


An Eighth Bird, Born Out of the Storm

by FourFaces



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-05-27 14:36:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 56,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15026801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FourFaces/pseuds/FourFaces
Summary: Based loosely on the  Luume'irma headcanon from interstellarvagabond on tumblr.Lup and Taako get their decennial “visitor” just before the fateful trip on the Starblaster. Taako holes up in his room, meditating away the discomfort while Lup discovers a partner for the week. Unforeseen consequences arise. Bonds are created. An eighth bird rises.Eighth Bird AU. Depictions of blood in the first chapter as well as implied sexual content (though nothing detailed). A later chapter will have slightly more graphic violence.





	1. Cycle 99 and Cycle 0

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Calcu for Beta'ing!!
> 
> This will be a long one xD

Lup stared down at the crying infant in her arms. She looked him over, watching the dark tendrils creep down her own hands.

He was healthy.

She breathed a sigh of relief

She had barely made it.

Her hands shook as she wiped the blood off of him with her robe before setting him in her lap. She dug through her pack and found a wire. She closed her eyes and weakly cast Sending. She didn’t even know if anyone would hear it. Her mind was too unfocused. She had to try though.

_Barry … Taako … Lucretia … Anyone … Wave Echo Cave … I’m dying … Silverpoint … Save our son ..._

She took in a labored breath and dug through her pack. She needed to leave a note, just in case. She looked at the infant once again. She had just enough strength to do this final thing for him.

She found a scrap of paper and began to write in her blood.

~

_Congratulations! You have made it past the first two decades of your life! Now you may have noticed that your body is changing. That is completely normal for a young elf. All elves go through this change during the first two decades of their lives. Sometimes it will happen early and sometimes it will happen late. That is totally normal!_

_You may even notice that your body doesn’t feel right. Perhaps it makes you uncomfortable. Perhaps not everything feels the way you know in your heart that it should. That’s OK too! Thanks to advances in transmutation magic, many young elves just like you are able to feel more comfortable in their bodies._

_Let’s first talk about “That Time” and safety during it._

_-Madame Primm’s Elven Coming of Age Primer_

Lup hated this time of the decade.

Even after getting help from Taako and a transmutation wizard after her first “visit”, once a decade she was still struck with intense discomfort. She didn’t trust easily and the idea of trying to share this time with some random elf upset her even more than the discomfort of not pairing off with someone during this time did.

At the very least, her body reacted in a way that felt more natural for her than it had the first decade. She would remind herself that it could be worse as she traced the runes running up to her navel.

It was still uncomfortable. Especially when she was single.

Taako was even worse off, not having any desire for sex most of the time anyway, yet he was still struck with similar uncomfortable feelings for one week out of a decade. Often he would try to just meditate the entire week to try and keep his mind off of it. Lup would often sigh and wish that she was better at meditating.

This went on for the first nine decades of their lives (save for Lup’s fiftieth birthday - which, the less said about it the better) until they joined the IPRE.

Lup had already started to bond with her crewmates more easily than Taako, who was naturally distrusting of others. He had learned that the only person he could trust was Lup. She was the only one, in all of their years as vagabonds, that wouldn’t screw him over.

Lup, on the other hand, was always more gregarious than her brother. Even though she was slow to completely trust someone, she at least would attempt to make friends, often trying to ease Taako into social situations with her.

When she first saw Barry Bluejeans, two thoughts went through her mind.

_What a fucking nerd._

And,

_His ass looks great in those jeans._

A week before their launch, Lup felt the signs. Taako had shut himself off in his room, refusing to even leave for training. He needed to meditate.

Lup found herself realizing what she could do when Magnus invited te crew to the local tavern for a night of bonding. She watched as Barry sat at the bar, drinking some mead.

She wasn’t sure if it was truly an emotional connection she was feeling or if it was just hormones, but she was suddenly very interested in him right now. She made her way over to the empty seat next to him and sat down, ordering a shot of whiskey. She quickly downed it and then turned to Barry. She took a shaky breath and then gently bumped Barry with her shoulder.

“So, you're our science officer, huh?” she purred.

“Oh, uh … yeah,” Barry sheepishly grinned. “You're one of our uh .. Arcanists, right?”

“Yup. And one of the chefs. My brother is the other one.”

“Ahh, that's right...” Barry smiled.

He took a sip of his drink and looked at Lup. He remembered his early health classes and could tell, right away, what was going on.

A part of him was a little nervous. He hadn't ever considered the idea that an elf would come to him during this time of their lives, but at the same time, a little bit of him had hoped, during his younger years, that something like this would happen.

She looked at him with half lidded eyes and her ears would twitch excitedly, not exactly hiding her intentions from him. He smiled and set down his drink.

He hadn't had an encounter in years and never with an elf. At the very least, this could help with the bond engine.

“Rough week?” he asked.

“You could say that,” Lup started.

“So … is there anything I could maybe do to help with your … week?” Barry began.

“As a matter of fact,” Lup began, “I've found myself in a predicament. See, I'm single, but I'm also in the absolute most inopportune time to be such. As a scientist, you must have some grasp on elven biology to know ...” She trailed off, hoping that he caught the hint.

“Oh no!” Barry grinned. “Well, that has to just be awful.”

“The worst,” Lup whined. “I mean, I could take care of it myself but it's just not the same ...”

“Of course,” Barry purred back. “Perhaps I could help you out with this?”

Lup blushed deeply. She didn’t expect him to actually say yes. She stammered, her ears drooping a little as she suddenly remembered that humans were different.

He already knew, of course. She had been open with everyone from the get go, as a way to test if she could really trust her crew.

“Are you still ok even though -”

Barry interrupted her with a kiss.

  
That night was the most passionate night either had experienced in a long time. After having snuck onto the not-yet-christened, Starblaster, they explored the ship in secret, as well as each other.

That night, as Barry and Lup lay on the deck under the stars wrapped in each other’s arms, Barry felt a twinge in his chest.

There was no way this as going to lead to anything more after this. She was an elf. She was his coworker.

After their two month expedition ended, she would be gone and he would be back to being alone anyway.

He looked down at her as she slept in the crook of his arm.

At least he could try to enjoy this week with her, even if it never happened again.

Lup awoke as the first sun was barely peeking over the hills. She looked up at Barry and purred. She was still weary from the night before, but just looking at him made her heart thrum in her chest.

He was so handsome in the faint light, the grey flecks in his dark blonde hair reflecting off of the first streaks of sunlight.

She gently nuzzled his neck.

She could let him sleep a little longer.

_Take plus two bond._

~

Barry and Lup spent much of their time after training together. Barry often reserved spell slots for their encounters, Lup covering for him during sparring if spell casting was needed. Taako had called in sick for much of the week, only coming out of his room on mandatory training sessions, where his look of discomfort was obvious to everyone else.

He looked over at one point to see that Lup was nowhere near as uncomfortable as she usually was during this time. He made a mental note to ask her who she was sleeping with when things calmed down for himself.

He looked around at each member of the crew. It had to be one of them. They were the only people he knew she had been around.

Barry was more her type, but she didn’t seem to be hanging on him like he would have expected her to.

Lucretia was also a possibility, but she was so quiet that Taako wondered if Lup had even noticed her.

If he had any desire to give into the pull of his “visitor”, then he would have definitely gone with Magnus. As he looked him over, he determined that he definitely wasn’t the one that Lup would have gone with. Too burly and too hairy.

_Too bad for Lup._

Merle was right out. He was more like a father figure to them than a potential romantic partner. It helped that he was much older than the two of them.

Taako paled.

That left Davenport.

Davenport who was currently watching Lup very closely.

Davenport was middle aged for a Gnome. Probably close to the equivalent age that Barry was. It wasn’t that he was upset about the idea of Lup being with a gnome. He was more upset with the idea of her being with the captain.

That was worse than being with Dad-Merle.

_She wouldn’t ..._

Taako felt like he was going to be sick.

~

Davenport had noticed a change in the bond engine when he was running tests. Even without being in operation full-time, it seemed to have strengthened, somehow. As he watched Lup and Barry during training, he pondered to himself if something had happened between his science officer and one of his arcanists. He was worried now. If things went wrong, it could end disastrously for their mission.

He wanted to pull them both aside and ask them, but as soon as training would end, Lup and Barry would disappear or Magnus would try to get the gnome to spar with him.

He continued to monitor the pair, making mental notes about what steps he might have to take if their relationship went sour.

~

Towards the end of the week, Barry prepared himself for the inevitable break up. He knew that there was no way that Lup would stay interested in him after this week was over. For one, he was a human and she was a high elf. Sure, her upbringing was non-traditional, but he knew that there were some things that transcended that upbringing, including pairing off, long term, with a human. He also knew that she was way out of his league. He was surprised she had come to him in the first place. Not that he was complaining. He just didn’t want to get his hopes up.

Lup felt her body start to calm down and started to get nervous herself. During the mission at least, there was no way that she could keep up their relationship - if that was even what this was. She also knew that she couldn’t keep this up after. Human lifespans were so short and she was just barely a century old while he had already lived almost half a century.

She hated loss. She didn’t want to get too attached.

The last night they spent together was bittersweet. Lup didn’t want it to end, but she knew it had to. Luckily, the next night was the press conference and she could focus on the mission after that. As they lay in each other’s arms, Lup pressed her head into Barry’s chest, listening to his heartbeat. The steady thrum calmed her down as she tried to just focus her thoughts on the steady rhythm.

“It’s alright,” he began. “I’ve enjoyed this a lot but I also understand …”

She looked up at him, her ears drooped slightly.

“Yeah …” she sighed. “In another life, I guess ... “

“Yeah …”

“Well, if you can still get it up in a decade and we’re still friends?”

Barry laughed, trying to hide the bitterness.

“Yeah. We could make a date of it.”

They kissed passionately one more time before they settled into sleep.

The next morning, Barry woke up to an empty bed. On the bedside table lay a note.

“See you at work.”

Below was a lip imprint from where Lup had kissed the page.

He sighed and stared at the note for a few moments before getting ready.

~

“Ok. Spill it,” Taako started. “You haven’t been home in a week and you were nowhere near as miserable as you should have been. Who was it?”

Lup stared at the bowl of eggs she was beating. She blushed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she lied.

“You’ve been off staying with someone else and if I’m going to be an uncle, I need to know.”

Lup coughed and laughed.

“You aren’t going to be an uncle,” she laughed. “First off, I doubt I’m even fertile. Remember that one elf during my fiftieth birthday? Nothing came of that one. So no kids there. Also, there’s almost no chance that I could have kids with … Why am I even telling you this? You’re just going to tease me!”

“You’re telling me because I’m your brother and we don’t keep secrets, Lup,” Taako complained. “Spill it!”

Lup sighed.

“It doesn’t matter, Taako. Just drop it, ok,” she said, forcefully.

“What …” Taako started. “Oh gods. It’s someone in the crew, isn’t it? Oh my god, you didn’t.”

Lup plopped the eggs into the pan and let them bubble.

“Lulu, you have to tell me!” Taako whined. “If things are going to be weird on this mission …”

“They won’t be.”

~

At the press conference, as Barry spoke to the crowd, Lup leaned over to Taako.

“Nerd Alert.”

Taako chuckled as Barry stammered, caught off guard by Lup’s comment. He ducked his head as he came back to his seat.

What the hell was that about? .

The evening led to Lup and Taako hustling patrons of the tavern out of their shoes, Magnus and Merle getting into a bar fight for Lucretia’s honor, and Barry getting drunk in the corner. He thought back to the press conference. He didn’t know how to handle Lup’s teasing right now. Especially with her sudden lack of interest in him.

It had just been for a week.

He knew that.

Why did it hurt now?

~

The dark force that they would know later as the Hunger arrived. The crew was split into thousands of projections and then returned to their recorded state.

Then they realized they were no longer in their home plane.

Lup and Taako squeezed each other’s hands before Lup looked to Barry. Barry just stood, staring out at this new world, his face pale with shock.

She wanted to go to him, but she couldn’t. She could feel something off about him now.

She didn’t want to make it worse.


	2. Cycle 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The IPRE crew begins their journey. Barry is discouraged. Lup remembers her home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh!!!! Thank you for all of the kudos and comments!
> 
> Posting this up tonight because tomorrow I'm starting my 30th cycle around the sun.
> 
> I want to try and do an update schedule for this one so that I actually get this fic finished (because holy smokes, it's going fun places).
> 
> Thank you all again, so much!

_The decennial week of fecundity in elves has many names. Sun elves and other high elves prefer to call it by the elven name Luume'irma. Other elves prefer to just refer to it in common as “That time of the decade” or their “Visitor” or their “Cycle”. Elves that use those terms are usually found in areas where multiple races live together. These elves are less constrained by the rituals that traditionally take place during this time._

_Elves can still desire physical intimacy with partners outside of this time period, but during this week long period of fecundity, elves can experience painful physical symptoms if their physical needs are not met. Unfortunately, not enough work has been done to assist elves who do not wish to experience this decennial period._

_-Elven Biology 1060 Textbook_

Barry, as science officer, was chosen to study the animals that seemed to dominate this planar system. He was surprised when Lup and Taako decided to come with him. They weren’t part of the science team, necessarily (granted, the team was only Barry), and this didn’t seem to have anything to do with arcana, but he wasn’t going to complain.

He felt fortunate when Taako was still somewhat friendly towards him. As friendly as he was with anyone else. Lup on the other hand was a little more standoffish. Ever since the morning she had left his room, she was different. Her teasing was a little worse than with the rest of the crew. It was almost as if nothing had happened between them.

It hurt a little but he had to remind himself that he knew what he was getting into.

He had read their files. He had seen them during training. The twins didn’t trust easily. She had just been under the effects of Luume'irma or whatever she would have called it. There was no actual love there.

He still made an effort to work with the twins and develop a friendship with them. He wanted to. He needed to.

Taako had noticed the tension between Lup and Barry right away, but he knew his sister well enough to not say anything to her. If she was being tight lipped about something, then he knew that he would never get it out of her.

Barry, on the other hand, was more of an open book. That was the easy thing about humans. They loved to share their feelings whenever possible.

During one evening, after Lup had cleaned up in the kitchen and left to study, Taako slid up next to Barry and reclined back on the chair next to him.

“Alright, Barold. Spill it.”

Barry looked up.

“What?”

“What did you do to her? Or what did she do to you?” Taako started. “Was it the nerd alert comment? You know we like to tease, right? It’s what we do.”

“Oh … Uh … well … I guess I thought she and I were closer?” He stammered. “Um … when you were away for a week, I thought we had gotten close,” he lied.

He couldn’t tell Taako what had actually happened.

The elf would probably kill him.

“Oh …” Taako started, his ears drooping slightly. “Yeah, she can be a little hard to read … We’ve had a lot of run-ins in our first century so … Yeah. And I mean, I was going through my time of the decade and so was she and that’s always a rough time for both of us.”

He looked around for his sister and then leaned in.

He could trust Barry.

“She’s only ever had one partner. It was another Sun Elf when we had our fiftieth birthday. He uh … He didn’t care about what she wanted at all. Just what he wanted. But she wanted to trust him and so she got close. She uh … She got hurt pretty badly by him. Thankfully, nothing came out of that union that week. She was paranoid too. I don’t think the transmutation we did was perfect so that might have been why. But it was a relief. If she’d had a constant reminder of that one, I think she would be even worse off. So … She’s probably just coming down from having gone through yet another “visit” without someone to trust long-term.”

Barry’s heart sank.

They’d both called it a fling.

He hadn’t thought that she would actually have gotten attached.

And now he had to rebuild his trust with her.

“I … I had no idea,” Barry started.

“Hey dude, it’s cool. Lup and I aren’t open about that much. Not even to people who we might be stuck with for a while.”

Barry nodded.

“Don’t worry. She’ll come around,” Taako smiled, patting his shoulder.

“Thanks.”

“Come on, let’s try and get in touch with those mongoose again. They like to be out at night anyway,” Taako suggested. “Lup will hear us chattering and get jealous. It will be hilarious!”

As he led Barry outside, Taako thought about Lup some more.

If she had been with Barry for that week, she would still be hanging all over him, if her last partner had been any indication. That meant that Barry was not the one she had been with.

Seeing Barry’s expression as Taako had talked about Lup’s previous partner, about their insecurities, made his heart ache.

He hadn’t expected anyone to really care, much less Barry, so opening up had been risky.

And Barry looked almost sick when Taako had been talking.

A thought occurred to him for a moment before he heard the rustling in the bushes that indicated that they were being watched by the mongoose family.

_What if Barry has feelings for my sister? Gross-a-rooni!_

~

Lup sat on her bed, tracing the runes on her abdomen.

Something was off but she couldn’t tell what.

She sighed and lay down. She was thankful that when the Starblaster was planned, she was able to get her own room. Sometimes, she just needed to get away from everyone, including her brother.

She stared at the wall for a moment before closing her eyes.

This was the worst possible scenario. She hadn’t been that attached to their home, but this was still too much.

She had once had dreams of returning to their aunt’s home and maybe revamping it into a restaurant, in her honor.

That dream was gone now, as was their aunt’s home. Her grave.

Their parents’ graves.

They hadn’t known their parents for very long before the plague wiped out their town, but all of the memories they had were fond. Their first home was with their grandfather who was not understanding at all. He had wanted to expand the city that he lived in and the only way to do it was to cater to everything that visiting humans wanted. Unfortunately, this had involved destroying centuries of elven cultural beliefs. Lup had no longer been allowed to wear dresses, like she had been in the first five years of her life. She had to go by a name that had long since been forgotten, and often she and Taako were made to dress identically.

Their aunt, a Sun Elf named U’tot’im’t’cuk, had come to visit during their second year with their grandfather, and, instantly recognizing how upset both children were, offered to bring them into her home.

She had lived in the woods with her husband, a Wood Elf named Angus. The home was small but comfortable.

And best of all, she called Lup by her name.

She taught Taako and Lup how to cook and even showed them some of her own magical flair, making Taako become fascinated with transmutation magic.

On occasion, other relatives offered to take the twins. They didn’t realize it then, but their aunt and uncle were not well. Their uncle’s mind had been going for years and their aunt had been having to take care of more and more for him. The rest of the family was concerned that the twins were too much for her to deal with.

No one had been as understanding as their aunt though, and, when the twins were eleven, they stole away at night to come and live with their aunt once again.

When Uncle Angus began to forget things, their aunt became more tired, trying to take care of him as well as the two children.

Lup and Taako had noticed and nearly ran away one night, until she held them close and told them that they were not burdens. That she loved them.

The night Uncle Angus died, their aunt silently cooked a meal for the twins.

Two nights later, their aunt didn’t wake up.

They had left after burying her behind the house and Taako vowed he never wanted to go back.

Every so often, Lup longed to go back, but their life was destined to be one lived on the road.

Now she never would.

~

Barry sat across the dinner table from Lup and watched her pick at her food. He looked to Taako who simply nodded.

“Hey,” Barry started in the animal language. “Everything ok?”

Lup looked up, surprised out of her thoughts.

“Huh? Oh … yeah, sure …” she responded with a grunt.

Barry looked at his plate.

“You know, you would have loved my mom. She wasn’t nearly as good of a cook, but she would have loved to have learned from you guys. How did you learn?”

Lup’s ears drooped.

“Our aunt.”

“Oh …”

“It’s … It’s ok. It was almost a century ago. She’d be proud. We’re cooking for Fantasy NASA.” she chuckled. “She cooked a mean turkey. Every birthday, she made that for Taako and I. It was my favorite thing …”

“We probably couldn’t do it on this plane,” Taako laughed. “We’d be eating the mayor of some town!”

That earned a chuckle from Lup.

Barry watched her ears twitch as she looked down at her plate.

“So … do you think Magnus will be able to get the Light of Creation from them?”

“Natch,” Taako started. “He’s bullheaded enough. He won’t take no for an answer.”

Lup nodded and poked at her food again.

She felt sick.

Probably just from getting used to everything on the planar system.

She sighed and got up from the table.

“See you nerds later,” she sighed.

Barry wanted to go after her, but Taako gently pulled on his sleeve.

“It’s cool, dude,” Taako started. “She’ll come around.”

Barry nodded and returned to his meal.

He suddenly wasn’t hungry.

~

When they were pulled back into their recorded states, Lup felt the sickness that she had felt for much of the later half of the year wash away. She looked around and saw Magnus reform in his original position. She looked down and saw that her hand was still clasped with Taako’s.

“What the fuck? Did I just die?” Magnus asked.

“Guys … I think we may be immortal,” Taako gasped.

Lup looked to Barry. He blinked rapidly and then met her eyes.

Maybe there was a chance to salvage their friendship.

Their _relationship_.

 


	3. Cycle 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako begins his Luume'irma. Lup does not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really need to decide on a posting schedule.
> 
> This chapter and the next one will be pretty light-hearted. I'm apologizing RIGHT NOW for Chapter 5.

_The planar system is an interconnected web that our prime material plane depends on, but what if all of the planes depend on their connections to each other? Would we be able to be as advanced as we are without our connections to the plane of thought  or the plane of magic? Would we be able to do the research we’ve been able to do in interstellar travel? Would interplanar travel still be within our reach without those connections? In this paper, I hope to expand on theories from many great researchers, including Gregor Hallwinter who inspired me to go on this path._   
_  
_     -Sildar “Darry” Hallwinter,  Year 5 Research Paper

 

Taako was locked in his room again, meditating. A theory the twins had posited was now confirmed. They still would get their decennial visitor.

Lup’s was late, however.

At least, that was what she told herself as she found herself not experiencing the usual wave of discomfort.

She instead sat outside of Taako’s door for a week, waiting for him to emerge. Maybe it just affected him? Maybe it was something to do with their recorded states?

She wanted to ask Merle, but she also felt uncomfortable entering his room unless absolutely necessary. She chose to wait it out, slightly concerned about why it might not have started yet.

Barry walked by her in the hallway midway through the week and froze.

“Oh …” he started.

“Yeah …” Lup began.

“Do you need …?”

“Nah. It hasn’t started for me for some reason …” she shrugged. “Probably some planar bullshit. Honestly, I wish I was going through it instead. Taako hates it. It’s worse for him than it has been for me. I mean, other than my first one. That sucked ogre balls.”

Barry chuckled.

“Mind if I wait with you?”

“It’s a free Starblaster,” she shrugged again.

Barry sat down against the wall next to her and leaned his head back.

“So, this is how he always copes? He just meditates for a week?”

“Yeah. It’s rough for him because he doesn’t want these feelings but they happen anyway. So it’s just easier for him to meditate for a week and just be inactive. We’re bad about meditating anyway. I can’t even get myself to do it, honestly. Too much going on in my mind,” she laughed. “It’s like when you cast produce flame on a tinderbox in a forest and the flame just spreads. It catches onto everything and you can’t stop it. You just have to watch …”

She looked down at her feet.

“Heh. Sorry though. I guess maybe next time, Barold,” she teased.

 _If I ever go through it again,_ she thought. _There’s no way you’ll have me otherwise ..._

They sat in silence until it was time for Lup to get ready to cook dinner for that night. Barry stayed put as Lup walked away before ruffling his hair.

He’d enjoyed the familiarity she had started to have with him, but it still ached to look at her.

“Barold?” a voice whined from behind the door.

“Yeah?” he called in.

“Can you sneak in a plate for me? It’s supposed to be spaghetti night tonight. I need to make sure she did it right!”

Barry chuckled. Spaghetti was the one thing Lup would cook that was completely hers. Taako wasn’t allowed to assist with it, after the incident where he poured too much wine into the sauce. Davenport had never been more loose with the crew as he had been that night, but it was unsettling when he had started singing arias on the kitchen counter.

“Will do, Taako,” Barry promised. “Need anything else?”

“A hammer to just knock me the fuck out for three more days …”

Barry laughed at that and rose from his seated position.

“Yeah, not gonna do that. Lup’ll kill me,” he laughed.

“You’ll come back!” Taako complained. “I’m just so done! I don’t know why she’s not going through this right now. Stupid lucky sister. I better not be an uncle! It’d probably be Cap’n’port’s!”

Barry froze.

He hadn’t even thought of that.

But it had been ten years.

It didn’t make sense.

Later, he watched Lup as she put the finishing touches on the spaghetti sauce. Her hips swayed as she sang an old elven folk song, her voice hitting the low notes and sending a chill through his entire body.

_Oh no …_

It wasn’t just a fling.

~

Lup had taken to taking walks around the Starblaster on this world. Lucretia had followed her on this particular walk, chronicling Pan knows what as Lup walked through the surrounding brush, looking around.

She heard the footsteps behind her stop suddenly. She turned around to see Lucretia writing hastily in her journal. She smiled, fondly and turned back to her path.

Lucretia had been a nice companion to have whenever she decided to join the elf on her walks. She was quiet, unlike most of the crew, and seemed to be good at keeping secrets.

She stopped suddenly.

“Lucy?”

“Yeah?”

“I … uh … I have something you can write down in your journal if you like?”

“Oh! Uh … sure!” Lucretia started. “Let me just …” She sat down and drew a line through the center of one page. “Alright … What’s up?”

“So … Uh … I …” This was a bad idea. This was such a bad idea. “I might have feelings for someone in the cre- No … I do … I did. I … It’s complicated.”

Lucretia blushed.

“I … Before we left, I spent a lot of time with Barry …”

Lucretia’s head snapped up, her eyes meeting Lup’s.

“I … I spent a week with him and I’m not sure what I even feel right now. I guess … I don’t know. I told myself I wouldn’t do that again unless it was a for-real relationship. But I did. And I don’t know what is even going on.”

She thought back to the fifth cycle. Barry had watched Magnus and Merle get felled by a large beast. He hadn’t been able to do anything to help them. He’d become withdrawn in the lab, trying to study the light of creation that they had barely been able to rescue. Lup had gone to talk with him and saw him wiping away tears. She wasn’t sure if they had been from sadness or frustration, but she felt a pull to comfort him.

_“Bare … There’s nothing anyone could have done. It’ll be ok. We’ll see them again in a year, I promise …”_

_“I could have warned them …”_

She remembered pulling him close, feeling her shirt grow wet with his tears. She couldn’t remember how long she had held him but after that night, she felt like she could maybe open up to him more.

“I … I think that I might have feelings for him …”

Lucretia smiled and looked down, writing some more.

“Please, for the love of Pan, don’t tell Davenport,” Lup groaned. “I do NOT need the disappointed dad look from him.

“Don’t worry. I’ll put this page somewhere else,” Lucretia chuckled. “Believe it or not, he doesn’t get to see everything I write.”

Lup pulled Lucretia into a tight hug, surprising the young woman.

“Girl, if that’s the case, I have so much more for your secret journals.”

Lucretia laughed nervously.

She would need more paper.

~

Merle stood on the deck of the Starblaster, watching as Lup and Barry trekked out into the brush, Barry with his surveying tools and Lup with her wand and a basket.

He’d watched the two grow closer over this cycle, but something seemed off to him about Lup. Over the last ten cycles, Lup had seemed different. During the calmer cycles, her behavior would change. She would become more withdrawn and less fiery. Her appetite would become erratic and she would exhibit other forms of abnormal behavior. He was concerned, as both a cleric and her friend. There were several possibilities as to why she was so off, but none of them were good, in his mind.

When he had done the yearly check up on the twins, listening to them answer his questions on their health, he noticed another troubling thing.

Taako went through Luume'irma, as he predicted this cycle.

Lup didn’t.

She brushed it off as planar shenanigans but Merle was still concerned. Even with strange planar magic affecting them, Lup should still be going through Luume'irma every decade, like her brother was.

He had a thought about why, but he didn’t want to ruin any trust that Lup had in him. He had been careful in any interactions with the twins, knowing that they were guarded about everything anyway.

Instead, he made a mental note to continue to monitor Lup for any more changes in her behavior.

He noticed, as Lup and Barry disappeared into the brush, that Lup had her hand on Barry’s back.

_Interesting …_


	4. The Beach Cycle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone relaxes on the beach. Lup gets some news. Magnus loses a bet.

_Elves are a species that uses the embryonic diapause strategy of reproduction. Elves can delay implantation of an embryo for up to three years if conditions are not favorable. Elves are most fecund during one decennial week when they are compelled by the biological urge to mate. When elves pair off with other elves, the chances that they will succeed in having offspring are around ninety percent. Dwarves, gnomes, orcs, and other humanoid races are less likely to produce offspring when paired with an elf._

  
_Unions with humans are unpredictable as not enough information has been gathered. Elves rarely pair off with humans due to the large gap in their life spans._   
_\- Adventures in Health, Sixth Edition_

The Beach Cycle should have been everyone’s favorite cycle.

Lup had enjoyed the first part of the cycle, relaxing on the beach and doing target practice with Magnus. She had to do something to stay away from her brother who had decided to invent a sport and an annoying new lingo.

She also found that she needed to stay away because Barry was there.

Her emotions towards him had been complicated. She had started truly feeling like maybe she felt more for him than just a potential occasional fling while she had watched him trying to fix a smaller robot in their eighteenth cycle. A part of her felt guilty now, that she had been so flippant about their relationship. She wondered if she had unintentionally hurt him with her distance.

So she reacted by trying to be more distant.

When he had died early in the twentieth cycle, she had been inconsolable. It had been made even worse by Taako getting his decennial visitor and staying locked away in his room. She had been alone. She hated being alone.

She had almost wrapped herself around Barry when he had reformed, but chastised herself after doing it. She had already messed this up once.

Now, he was hanging out with her brother every morning after he surfed. Even worse, he barely wore anything to the swimming practice. She often found herself staring at him before quickly looking away, hoping he didn’t see.

She loved him.

She loved him but she had already fucked this up.

~

Taako had his suspicions about a lot of things.

He had his suspicions about Barry’s motives with regards to his swimming lessons. After Lup had draped herself on Barry at the start of the twenty-first cycle, he had a feeling that Barry’s intentions were to get into his sister’s pants.

Unfortunately, he also had his suspicions about Lup.

He had watched her like a hawk after she had missed yet again during the twentieth cycle. This wasn’t normal for her at all. He flashed back to his health books with a twinge of fear. She had also started craving odd things towards the middle of the year, having looked for the cap that Merle had made her because “Jellyfish just sounds good right now, OK?”. He worried that she had been with someone who had been destroyed by The Hunger, from their home plane. If so, how would his sister who loved so deeply and fully whenever she did feel love react?

Even worse, however, was the possibility that it was someone in the crew.

Someone who wasn’t Barry.

He had grown close to the human nerd and found that he cared about him, almost like a brother.

The thought of his heart getting broken was too difficult to think about.

~

Her swimsuit didn’t fit right.

Her swimsuit didn’t fit right and it scared her to death.

She made her way to Merle’s tent, hoping that the cleric wasn’t too ill to see her. He sat on his cot, looking outside with a forlorn look on his face when she approached.

“Here to see an old dwarf on his deathbed?” he moaned.

“Merle, you’ll come back,” she chided. “Are you well enough to maybe perform a check up?” she asked, looking around nervously.

“Uh … sure? What’s up, Lup?”

“I … My swimsuit didn’t fit this morning,” she started.

“Well that’s hardly a problem,” Merle laughed. “We’ve been eating pretty well this cycle-”

“I’ve … also missed my … visitor … Twice.”

Merle shot up and began gathering components and tracing runes into the sand.

“Sweet Pan,” he started “How … Have you been feeling anything else to this cycle?”

“I … I ate that cap you made me … It was an odd craving. I just had to eat it. I also have been pretty sick for the past few mornings.”

“Any cramping?”

“Yeah … I had it about a month after we landed … After that one meal we cooked on the beach?”

“OK. So … Lup … I don’t want to diagnose until after I’ve casted but …”

“Yeah …”

Merle concentrated and uttered a few words under his breath. Lup felt a glow rise up within and around her. She waited, feeling the spell tingle through her.

Merle sighed.

“Well … Congratulations, you’re a mother,” he said in a low voice. “Whose?

“Barry’s.”

“That makes sense …” he started. “This cycle?”

“No.”

Merle looked up at her, confused.

“What?”

“It was … It was before we left.”

Merle let out a nervous whistle.

“God … Well, I guess it makes sense … We all get set to our recorded states … And this is the first world we’ve all felt completely safe on. It makes sense …”

Lup laughed bitterly and sat down hard on Merle’s bed.

“Well, it won’t matter in a few months. Even if we have another cycle where we feel safe, I won’t end up having the kid because I’ll just keep resetting. Just … fucking great.”

She hastily wiped away a tear.

Merle hopped onto the bed and patted her shoulder.

“We’re … This isn’t going to be forever, you know? I … I want to believe that we’re going to get out of this.”

“Same but … Merle, how many more are we going to go through? How long is this going to happen? My body can handle this, sure but … my mind? My heart?” Lup said, softly. “And … Barry … what do I even tell him? It … it was supposed to just be a fling. Something so that I didn't suffer for a whole week.”

“Was it?”

Lup was silent.

She had known she had started having feelings for him during that week, but she wrote it off as hormones. And she had wanted to still feel something for him, but she had been hurt before. She hadn't wanted to let anyone in like that again.

But she did.

And was it really so terrible that it was Barry?

~

Taako watched as Barry left for his tent.

He had been right. Barry was in love with his sister. Out of anyone that the pair had met, Barry was the best possible option in Taako’s eyes. He had been one of the first humans that he fully trusted.

It made the idea that Lup may not have paired up with Barry before the trip, that Lup might end up having someone else’s child even more painful.

He couldn’t tell Barry not to pursue his feelings. He didn’t want to break his heart like that. He had been so engrossed in staring after Barry that he hadn’t heard Magnus sneak up on him.

“MAGNUS!” the security officer yelled behind him, sending Taako up into the air.

“Jeezy Creezy!” Taako exclaimed. “What the fuck, Mags?”

“An attack can come from any corner and you weren’t ready!” Magnus laughed.

“Why aren’t you sneaking up on Lup?” Taako complained.

“I did exactly once and almost lost the rest of this cycle,” he laughed. “She’s the only one who caught me. How do you not have as good of hearing as her?”

“As Lup? She’s worse than me with …” Taako started and then paused.

He remembered his health textbook from the academy.

“Aw beans,” Taako groaned.

“What?” Magnus asked.

“Nothing just … I’m going to have to have a talk with … Where’s Lup?” he grumbled.

Magnus sighed. “She was tired and didn’t want to do target practice today. I couldn’t get her out of her tent. I think she cursed me, too. Not sure. I never learned that dialect of elvish,” he chuckled.

Taako pinched the bridge of his nose.

“What’s up, bud?” Magnus asked. “Something’s obviously eating at you. Did something happen while you were training Barry?”

Taako looked up at his human companion.

Magnus was the second human he had felt he could trust. He wanted to trust him more, but Taako only had a limited amount of trust to go around. Life as a vagabond had made him less trusting of everyone, much less humans. When Lup was around, it was easier. He could look to her for whether or not someone could be trusted.

But Lup was in her tent.

“I … Gods, Mags. I suck at relationship stuff, but I just gave Barry romantic relationship advice and … I don’t even know if it will work out for him. If it doesn’t then this is going to be a really awkward eternity.”

Magnus tilted his head.

“Relation- wait … Does Barry have a thing for your sister?” Magnus asked.

“Magnus, you can’t say _anything_.”

“No, no, of course not!” Magnus began. “It’s just … Wow … I just lost a bet.”

“What?”

“I had a bet going with Merle, Lucy, and Davenport and I just lost to all three of them!” he laughed. “Well, luckily my gold from our homeworld is completely useless so it’s not a huge loss. So, Barry’s got a thing for your sister, huh?”

“Yeah … and I think I messed things up … I shouldn’t have given him advice because there are things Lup won’t even tell me. I don’t want him to end up heartbroken.”

Magnus tilted his head.

“Lup hasn’t gone through Luume'irma since we left …” he started, noticing the confused look on his face, “and your look tells me that you don’t know what that even is so that means she didn’t pair off with you before we left … But, if she didn’t end up pairing off with Barry when she had her last one, then that means she might be carrying someone else’s kid … And … That would destroy Barry, I just know it.”

“This Luume'irma thing … What is it?” Magnus asked. “If you’re ok telling me that is …”

Taako blushed and then rambled on, explaining it to the best of his ability as Magnus listened, sympathetically.

“So … yeah … Lup banged someone twenty one years ago and I think I’m going to be an uncle and if it’s not Barry’s then … Barry’s gonna be heartbroken. I mean … It’s not like the kid’s going to be born because elves take for-e-ver to have kids but … Yeah …”

“Wow … I’m sorry Taako,” Magnus began, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Um … if it ever gets too much for you when you go through it … you can come crash in my room … I won’t do anything you don’t want me to but … Yeah … If you even just want someone to be there …”

Taako blushed deeply.

“Uh … Thanks Mags …” He stammered. “I … I’ll remember that.”

Magnus patted Taako on his shoulder and then left to continue his patrol. Taako felt the heat on his shoulder from where Magnus’ hand had been.

Yeah, maybe he would take him up on his offer the next time.

~

Lup wasn’t even aware she had done it when she rescued Barry’s glasses.

She looked into his eyes as she handed them to him, watching the blush spread across his face. She wanted to look away from his bright green eyes, but she couldn’t. She was drawn in, much like she had been before the mission had started.

“Uh … Here you go,” she smiled. “I think you would want to still be able to see the end of this cycle.”

“Uh … Yeah …” Barry stammered. “Thanks.”

She wanted to press her forehead to his. She wanted to kiss him, to stroke his hair. To hold him close.

Instead, she pressed the tip of her finger to the tip of his nose.

“Boop!” she chirped before quickly turning away and running to her brother, leaving Barry confused.

That night in her tent, Lup grabbed her hair in frustration, looking up at the top folds of the tent.

“Fucking ‘Boop’? _Really_?”

 


	5. Cycle 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew lands on a hostile planet and, within the span of a couple of weeks, loses three members. Barry is numb. Taako doesn't eat. Magnus is no longer hospitable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is rough, guys. I apologize in advance. The angst got away from me in this one, so warning for blood, major (temporary) character deaths, and a character dealing with disassociating. I tried not to get too explicit with the violence, but this chapter is gonna hurt.

_To whom it may concern:_

_This is my fifth request in regards to the clerical mistake made when I first joined the IPRE. I realize that cursive is difficult for some of the younger administrators to read, however my name should have been written as Darry Hallwinter. I realize my mistake in that I should have used my full birth name of Sildar, but Darry is an acceptable nickname._

_Additionally, I believe a clarification needs to be made with my last name. I am not sure who changed it, but my last name is indeed Hallwinter. It is not Bluejeans. Bluejeans is not a family name._

_Enclosed are my birth certificate and government issued ID card. Please contact me at your earliest convenience to correct this error._

_Thank you,_

_Sildar Hallwinter_

 

Barry realized it after leaving Tesseralia.

Lup had missed her “visitor” three times now.

This wasn’t just planar shenanigans. There was no way that this had to do with planar magic.

He wanted to talk with her about it, but as soon as Taako was out of Magnus’ room at the end of his week, Lup was constantly at his side. He couldn’t find a time to be alone with her.

When the cycle reset and the crew landed, Lup and Barry went out to survey the area. Barry was nervous the entire time, wanting to ask her about her missing visitor. What if she was pregnant? What would they even do now?

What was their relationship at this point?

The sound of something whizzing past him shook Barry out of his reverie. He looked up and gasped.

Lup was standing, slumped over, in front of him. Her back was to him, but he saw an iron spear sticking out of her back.

_No no no no …_

Barry ran to Lup’s side, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. She was staring down at the ground, shock on her face as she tried to breathe around the spear that went through her.He looked around, prepared for a fight, but saw no one.

It must have been a trap. He could have been killed instead.

_I should have ..._

“Lup …” Barry whispered.

She looked up at him and her expression softened as she tried to smile, sadly.

“Well, I guess that’s it for this year, huh?” She gasped.

“I’ll … I’ll get Merle!” Barry cried out.

“N… No … Don’t leave me,” she whispered. “I don’t like being alone …”

Barry froze for a moment before he moved in closer to her. He tried to cradle her without moving her too much, not wanting to make her feel any more pain than she already did.

“I was going to talk to you but … I can’t focus … Remind me next cycle,” she whispered.

Barry nodded, trying to keep himself together.

“Taak … Take care of …” she pressed her head into Barry’s chest. “Hurts …”

“I know,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry …”

“Not your …”

Lup closed her eyes and took a few more shallow breaths. Barry held her close, tears spilling onto her dark hair. He wasn’t sure how long it had been, but eventually, the breathing stopped and the warmth started to leave her body.

He’d been there when she died before, but it was always at the end of a cycle. Always quick.

He’d never gone through an entire cycle without her before.

~

Taako waited nervously for Lup and Barry to return.

As soon as they had reformed at the end of the Beach cycle, Lup had pulled Taako into her room and sat him down.

_“Taako … I … I’m pregnant.”_

_“I fucking knew it. Who was it? Was it Davenport? Fuck, please tell me it wasn’t Davenport! Barry’s going to be so upset!”_

_“Oh Gods … He is, isn’t he? He probably didn’t want this at all and now I’ve saddled him with this! We just thought it was going to be for a week. Just a fling! And now I’ve tied him down with this if we ever get out of these cycles! He’s going to hate me! I can’t tell him-”_

_“Wait … Tied down … Barry?”_

_“Yeah … He’s going to be so- Wait … Davenport’s …. You thought I was pregnant with Cap’n’port’s kid?” Lup had asked, perplexed and horrified._

_“Well you weren’t all over Barry like I thought you would be and he never said anything!” Taako complained. “So … You and Barry?”_

_“Yeah … during my …”_

_“Hachi Machi ….”_

_“Yeah .. and we kept saying it would only be a fling but, Taako, I think I’m in love with him …”_

_“Wow … Yeah …” Taako started. “I mean, that’s good but, Lup, you’ve gotta tell him …”_

_“I know but … I can’t. He doesn’t need this, on top of everything else! It’s not fair to him!”_

_“Lulu …”_

_Taako had wanted to say something, anything to make this easier, but Barry had put his trust in him. If he wasn’t ready to say anything …_

_“Ok … Well, just - Just think about telling him, Ok? Doesn’t have to be now, but he deserves to know,” Taako sighed._

_“I know …”_

When Lup had told Barry to come with her on the survey, she looked to Taako with the look that said, “I’m going to tell him.”

And they were still out there.

Taako knew, deep down, that eventually Barry would be alright with this. He had to know that this was a possibility. And he’d said he loved Lup.

When he only saw Barry appear through the trees, his heart caught in his chest.

When he saw the blood on his shirt as he got closer, Taako’s heart plummeted.

“No …” he whispered before running out to Barry.

Barry stumbled out of the forest, still in shock. He couldn’t lift her body off of the spear. He could barely move his arms. He stopped when he saw Taako bolting towards him.

Lup’s name must have escaped his own lips. He must have said something because Taako looked absolutely destroyed. He expected anger. He expected Taako to rage against him, to hate him for letting his sister die so soon.

Instead, Taako pulled Barry into a close hug.

“Barold … Gods, I’m so … I’m so sorry Barry …”

Barry crumpled into Taako’s arms and wept bitterly as Taako tried to calm him down. Taako was too in shock to mourn properly. Barry and Lup were supposed to have their heart to heart conversation. Barry was supposed to get (hopefully) good news.

Instead, she was gone for a year.

A whole year.

Taako had never been without his sister for that long, in the century he had been alive. He had never even imagined what life would be like without her.

He helped Barry back into the Starblaster where they were greeted by a concerned Merle who immediately paled when he saw the blood on Barry’s shirt.

“Not mine …” Barry mumbled, hoarsely. “Lup’s …”

That night, Magnus went with Barry to where Lup had been killed. Taako found himself in his sister’s room, wrapped up in her blankets.

He had tried to keep himself from crying. From showing any weakness.

He had to put on a brave face. Lup was always so much braver than he was. Even as children, she was the brave one. She was the one that protected him.

Now she was gone for a year.

He looked around her room. Everything was painful to look at but he couldn’t leave the room. He couldn’t leave the reminders that his sister existed. He curled up tighter in Lup’s blanket.

Maybe she wasn’t really dead. Maybe this was all a sick prank.

But Barry’s face. The shock he had been in.

Lup was dead.

And they were going to bring her body back soon.

~

Barry looked at the bloody spear.

Lup was gone.

“She … Someone …” Barry started.

Magnus pulled Barry close. He looked around, scanning for movement.

Whoever had taken Lup was long gone. He felt Barry trembling in Magnus’ arms.

“Why … Gods … We can’t even bury her …”

“I’m sorry,” Magnus whispered.

“We … We should go back …”

Magnus nodded and helped Barry back to the Starblaster. In the morning, he would mount an expedition and see who was out there. Maybe he could still find Lup’s body so that the crew could have closure for this year.

So that Taako could have closure …

He watched as Barry stumbled down the hall, stopping in front of Lup’s doorway before entering. He heard him speaking softly to someone in there before a loud sob escaped the room.

_Taako …_

Magnus continued on to his own room and got ready. He was going to find who did this.

Fuck his rustic hospitality.

They hurt his family.

~

Over the next few days, the crew waited in the ship as Magnus continued his quest. He had gone out with as much of the armory as he could carry and rations for days. Taako had not moved from Lup’s bed, not even for meals. Barry had brought in food but it always sat, untouched, on the bedside table. Barry tried to get Taako to eat, but eventually, he was locked out of Lup’s room after Taako enchanted the lock.

He sat outside the door, waiting and worrying.

He couldn’t lose Taako too.

After a week, Magnus arrived, disheveled but alive. His eyes were haunted and in his hand was a gunny sack.

“I … I had to steal her,” he explained. “Don’t … Don’t look inside. They’re dangerous unless you’re human. Taako …. He can’t leave the ship. He was lucky he didn’t … Where is he?”

“Lup’s room.”

Magnus nodded, setting down the sack.

“I … I need a shovel. So we can bury her. And … Tell Taako. We’ll do a ceremony if he would like …”

Barry nodded and went to Lup’s room to find the door ajar.

His blood ran cold.

He stepped into the room, the eerie silence hitting him as he walked through the door. He looked at Taako’s form. He looked like he was sleeping but Barry knew better.

He walked over and touched Taako’s arm.

Cold.

He cleaned up the plate of food and walked out, not sure if the shock of losing both twins was going to hit him yet. He passed Magnus who looked at him, concerned.

“You … you need to dig two holes,” Barry whispered.

Magnus broke into a run toward Lup’s room as Barry continued into the kitchen. He set the dishes into the sink and turned on the water, letting the sink fill up.

He could see himself, now, just staring into the water. He could see himself grabbing the soap, pouring it into the sink. He could see the bubbles forming, the foam filling the sink.

He couldn't feel the heat of the water. He couldn't feel the smoothness of the plates or the silverware.

He couldn't feel anything.

He wasn't sure how long he was even standing at the sink. He somehow got all of the dishes done, though he didn't remember doing them.

Lup was going to tell him something.

Taako was so eager for them both to return.

He went outside. The sack was still there. The sack that held Lup.

That held the woman he loved.

He sat down next to it and placed his hand on it. He felt her arm through the sack. Her head. A leg. Haphazardly thrown in.

_Oh._

That's why Magnus said not to open it.

Tears pricked his eyes but did not spill out.

When Magnus came out, carrying Taako’s shrouded body, Barry got to work, helping him dig. He didn't notice when he got the splinters in his hands or the blood running down them as he gripped the shovel tightly but Magnus eventually pulled the shovel away from him.

“Go get Merle before he goes into Parley,” Magnus started. “We can do a ceremony …”

Barry must have nodded. He must have gone inside. He didn't remember any of it.

He couldn't really understand what Merle said as he stared into the twin holes in the ground. He thought he saw Lucretia writing something. He wasn't sure.

He just knew one thing.

He needed this year to end.

~

Lucretia didn't know it then, but a seed was planted.

She watched as the twins’ bodies were lowered into the holes. They were down two crew members now.

Once Merle was in Parley, they would be down three.

She stared at Taako’s grave as she chronicled the funeral.

Taako couldn't live without his sister.

This could never happen again.

~

Barry ended up being the one to make contact.

It had been four months. Barry still would occasionally find himself handing something off in the lab to someone who wasn't there.

The silence on the ship was deafening. The loss of the twins had created a vacuum. The loss of Merle when he went into Parley made it worse. It felt like everyone was on autopilot.

It's why Barry had found himself outside the ship.

He stood at Lup and Taako's graves. He knew they would be back in less than a year, but it didn't make it any less devastating.

“What were you going to tell me?” He whispered.

The bushes rustled and Barry’s hand went straight to his wand. He stared into the darkness, waiting for something to attack.

Instead, a friendly looking human man emerged.

“Hail and well met!” The stranger crowed. “I'm looking for someone! Perhaps you have seen him-?”

The man stopped when he saw Barry standing over the two mounds.

“Ahh. Did you lose someone in the hunts?”

“The what?” Barry asked.

The man laughed.

“You one of those elf lovers?” He started. “Come on, they're not people like you and me. They're like deer, only more dangerous.”

Barry's hand trembled.

“What …”

“I'm actually looking for the one I caught. I got a Sun Elf in one of my spike traps and took it in for processing. Someone took it and, well, I assumed that it might have been taken by someone who was jealous of my kill … They are rare after all … but now I think I know what happened to it.”

The man reached for his weapon.

Barry cast without thinking.

Magnus was alerted to the loud explosion outside of the Starblaster and raced out. He saw Barry, standing in front of a smoking crater. His whole body was shaking and his jaw was set in anger.

“Barry?” Magnus asked.

“He killed Lup. He killed her for a trophy … They hunt elves here …”

Magnus’ expression softened.

“Yeah. When I found her … It was horrible. I couldn’t even get all of her, Barry … I’m sorry.”

“Fuck this planar system,” he growled before turning back to the ship.

Magnus stared at the smouldering crater. A part of him wished he had told Barry the truth earlier. He knew, however, that if he had, then it would have gotten worse.

He had seen Barry during training before the mission. He knew how powerful he was when he was casting. He knew how easily Barry could lose himself.

He followed Barry back into the ship. There wasn’t any way they could find the light on this plane, anyway. Not with such hostile inhabitants.

Passing by the twins rooms, Magnus wondered if he even cared.

~

When the year ended, Barry paid his respects one last time to Lup’s grave. He knelt in front of it as the silent storm gathered overheard. A part of him wanted to stay. To not have to wait the agonizing minutes before the reset.

But he knew the rest of the crew still needed him.

He knew that Lup and Taako would be back soon.

As they were pulled apart and reformed, Barry caught his breath, worried that this would be the one time where it didn’t work.

He watched as Lup and Taako formed in the light in front of him, their hands tightly clasped together. They looked to each other and hugged tightly.

“Sorry bro-bro,” Lup whispered. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“I forgot to eat,” Taako responded, sheepishly, earning a playful slap on the back of his head from Lup.

She looked over at Barry, her ears drooping. She then looked to Merle.

“Lup,” Merle started.

“Yeah … Um … Barry? I need to talk with you but …”

Merle nodded and he and Lup left for the sick bay. Barry looked to Taako.

“Sorry dude … Um … If you want, we can wait outside and then you can talk to her?” Taako began, apologetically. “It is pretty important.”

Of course Taako knew whatever it was Lup needed to tell him. They knew everything about each other.

Barry thought back to that day on the beach. He felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Maybe the news wasn’t going to be good after all.


	6. Cycle 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lup and Barry have a talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, so sorry about the pain in the last chapter. This one and the next couple will be tooth-rottingly sweet.

_You may have noticed now that your partner is not aging at the same rate as you are. Your hair is growing grey while they still remain youthful in appearance. This is one of the more difficult things for humans to grasp when they are with an elven partner. Many will resort to potions or taboo and unsavory methods to try and avoid dying before their partner, but acceptance of your difference in lifespans is ultimately the best option._

_Take solace in the fact that your partner, if they outlive you, will keep their beauty long enough that they won’t be alone for long after you pass._

_\- So You’re Dating an Elf: Human Edition_

Barry watched Lup emerge from the sick bay. She looked to Barry and then to Taako who simply nodded and went to his room.

“Barry … do you want to … Do you want to talk in your room so you can sit down?”

Barry gulped and nodded. They made their way to his room and Barry sat on the bed. Lup paced around the room for a moment, trying to think of how she was going to tell him.

She had to do it now. She had told him she was going to tell him. She could tell he was nervous.

What if he knew? What if he knew and as soon as she said something, he would tell her to leave. Tell her he didn’t want to see her outside of a professional setting again for keeping this from him for so long.

For inconveniencing him.

“So … Barry … Um ... “ She started. “Remember before the mission? That week we spent together …”

“Yeah.”

“Best week of my life, by the way,” she smiled, nervously. “But uh … So … I went to you because I was attracted to you and I thought there was no way that … Um … See, when I turned fifty, I had a partner and didn’t get pregnant but …”

She stopped and looked at Barry. A look of concern was plastered on his face.

She sat next to him.

“Barry … If I had thought I would get pregnant, I wouldn’t have … I didn’t mean to … We’re …”

She grabbed his hands in hers, trying to take her mind off of the fear that coursed through her veins.

“Barry, We’re going to have a kid … eventually. I’ve been pregnant for … for thirty-two cycles. It resets every time but … When we were on the beach, that was the first time I felt safe enough and … Well … Merle thinks that unless we break out of these cycles, I’m not going to give birth but … But if we do break out of them I thought you needed to know …”

Barry sat in stunned silence.

He had known, of course. He’d had his suspicions and deep down he knew.

A child.

He and Lup were going to have a child and they weren’t even actually together.

Were they?

He didn’t realize how long he had been silent until he looked up at Lup and saw her face. She looked as if her heart had been ripped in half, her ears drooping low and her eyebrows creased upwards.

“I … I’m sorry, Barry. I’ll go …” she said as she started to stand, taking her hands away.

“Wait!” Barry started, holding her hand tightly. “Sorry I just … It’s a lot to think about. I’m … I’m eventually going to be a dad?”

Lup nodded.

“Wow …” Barry started. “This is … I honestly never thought I would have kids,” he laughed. “So, how long would it be?”

“Usually elven pregnancies last about two years,” Lup started. “But … Half-elf babies are different and who knows how long we’re going to be stuck like this so …”

“Yeah …”

“Are … Are you ok?”

Barry smiled.

“Yeah! Yeah … It’s just … It’s a lot to take in,” he chuckled. “I’m … I’m going to be a dad,” he laughed. “Eventually …”

“Yeah,” Lup smiled. “You’re OK with it?”

“Of course! I mean … It’s not what I thought would happen to me in my late forties but … We’ll … We’ll make this work,” Barry smiled back. “Are you OK?”

“Yeah …” Lup began. “I just - I was worried, you know? I mean, we’re not exactly dating or anything and I don’t think either of us expected more to come out of …”

“No, yeah, I agree,” Barry began. “I just … Yeah … This is a lot.”

“It is.”

“And you’ve been going through this alone?”

“I mean … Kind of? Taako knew because of course he did … Merle was the one who told me … I was really sick while we were on the Beach and ... “

Barry nodded.

“Anyway … Yeah, this doesn’t have to change anything if you don’t want it to just … I wanted you to know. You needed to know. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner but … Well, I was worried, honestly. I was worried you would be angry. That it would ruin our friendship.”

_Friendship ..._

Barry tried not to let his heartbreak show.

Even now, they were just friends.

It was ok. He had to be ok with it. It wasn’t fair to Lup to make her love him.

Even if he wished she did.

“Yeah … No, I still care a lot about you Lup. You’re one of the best friends I’ve ever had.”

The elf smiled, though Barry thought he saw her lip twitch slightly.

“Yeah. Um … So … That was what I was going to talk to you about when we were … you know …”

“Oh …” Barry nodded.

“Anyway, I better uh … Help Taako get dinner prepped,” she smiled. “Uh … I’ll see you tonight?”

Barry grinned.

“Of course,” he agreed.

He hoped she didn’t notice the disappointment as she left the room.

~

“So … Are you two an item yet?” Taako asked as he peeled potatoes.

“I uh … I only told him I was pregnant,” Lup started.

The clattering of the potato peeler in the sink snapped her to attention.

“You … You were supposed to spill your heart out to him!” Taako complained. “You were supposed to tell him that you loved him! That you two were destined to be together! Anything to keep you from pining over him constantly!”

“Taako, you know good and well why I didn’t say anything!” Lup snapped. “I couldn’t just tell him that I loved him! Not after last time!”

“Lup, he wouldn’t do that to you -”

“What if he did, huh? What if he hurts me? I can’t do that again, Taako. If we just decide to do some visitation thing for our son after we get out of this then … well, that’s better than him breaking my heart later!”

Lup turned back to the garlic.

“Coward,” Taako muttered.

“What the fuck, Taako?” Lup growled. “How dare you, of all people, call me a coward?”

“It’s true!” Taako snapped back. “You won’t tell him how you really feel because you’re too scared, but you know what? Humans don’t live forever, Lup! They’re here and then they’re gone and if you don’t say anything and the next cycle is our last, then you’re only going to have another forty or fifty years to tell him you love him! Do you really want that? Do you really want him to never know?”

Lup fumed at him and then threw her garlic down on the counter. She walked past Taako in silence and stormed to her room.

Taako sighed, looking over the food.

He could do this one alone, but he hated it.

“Gods, Lup …” he muttered to himself as he worked on dinner.

~

Lup looked up at the ceiling.

She knew Taako was right, but she hated it.

She knew that when they got out of these cycles, there would be a ticking clock. She would only have a blink of an eye with Barry. She would only have him for fifty years, at best.

Why did she have to go for a human?

She pulled up her shirt again and looked at the runes on her abdomen. She traced them, absentmindedly, while staring up at the ceiling.

She needed to tell him. If, gods forbid, this cycle was their last, then Barry might as well be gone.

It was the worst thing about having humans that she cared about. At least with gnomes and dwarfs, she would have a couple centuries.

It wasn’t fair.

She sighed and sat up. She needed to talk with Taako too.

He hadn’t eaten. He forgot to eat …

He died the last cycle …

_Gods …_  Lup thought. _I can’t leave him for one minute …_

She walked out of the room and headed towards the kitchen. She watched as Taako worked by himself, grumbling as he tried to do the work of two elves. He picked up a jar of spices they had picked up from Tesseralia and started to pour it into the pan.

Is he insane?!

“Taako! You know better than to do that!” Lup chastised. “They said that this was only good on fish!”

Lup snatched the spices out of Taako’s hand using mage hand and put it on the counter.

Taako looked at her, indignant.

“Well, if someone wasn’t having a tantrum...”

“Scoot,” Lup grumbled. “Gods, can’t let you cook alone for two seconds without screwing things up.”

She bumped Taako out of the way with her hips and worked feverishly to fix Taako’s mistakes with the crew’s dinner, complaining as he chuckled behind her.

Barry walked into the kitchen to see the twins squabbling over dinner. Something was underneath their argument, however. When Taako turned and saw him, he poked Lup who looked at Barry and blushed before returning to chopping kale at a feverish pace.

Barry sat down at the kitchen table, listening as the squabbling started up again, this time in elvish. He only knew some words, but he remembered enough of the dialect they spoke in to know that the argument was about him.

Suddenly, he wished he was needed elsewhere.

~

A light rapping on the door shook Davenport out of his thoughts. He looked up from his book to see Lup in the doorway.

“Hey Cap’n’port,” she started. “Uh … Can I talk with you?”

Davenport nodded and turned around, motioning for Lup to sit down.

“What’s going on?”

“So … um … I went through Luume'irma just before our mission and … I’m pregnant.”

Davenport paused.

“It’s … It’s Barry’s,” she sighed.

“Oh …” Davenport started. “I mean, I thought that maybe you two …”

“Yeah …”

“Does he know?”

“Yeah, I told him … We’re … We’re not going to let it affect the mission but … I thought I should tell you too.”

Davenport sighed.

“Lup … I don’t even know what the mission is anymore. I mean, we are still exploring but … It’s changed. We’ve got to survive. We’ve got to defeat the hunger. If you think you’ll be able to stay professional with him-”

“Of course,” Lup started.

“Ok. Just … please, try to still get along,” Davenport sighed. “We barely were able to get off the ground last cycle. The engine couldn’t take the strain from him losing you …”

Lup froze.

Barry was that upset?

Maybe …

“I … I had no idea,” Lup started, her ears drooping. “I didn’t know he … cared that much.”

“Yeah, humans are funny like that,” Davenport chuckled. “Probably the short lifespans.”

“Yeah … probably …” Lup agreed. “Thanks though, Dad’n’port.”

“Hey now,” Davenport grumbled.

“It suits you,” she chuckled. “Face it, we’re all becoming a family.”

Davenport laughed and then sighed.

“Alright, alright. Just don’t call me that in front of the rest of the crew.”

Lup winked and left the room, headed towards the lab. When she reached the door, she paused, looking in.

Barry sat, exhausted, as he stared at the projection he had created for studying the light when they had not found it yet. His head would nod as his eyes drooped, his glasses sliding to the tip of his nose.

Lup leaned on the doorway and watched him for a moment.

_Still as handsome as ever._

She watched him for a few more moments before walking into the room. He hadn’t heard her yet, so she gently touched his shoulder. He jumped awake and looked up at her.

“Oh … Hey, Lup.”

“You look like you need sleep,” she smiled. “Come on, I’ll help you to bed.”

“I’m not that tired,” Barry chuckled, stumbling to his feet. Lup quirked an eyebrow at him. “Ok, maybe I am a little tired.”

“Come on,” she chuckled.

She helped Barry to his room and walked him to the bed. He started to lay down when Lup swatted his behind.

“You are not sleeping in jeans!” She complained. “At least change into pajama bottoms. I won’t be able to sleep knowing that you aren’t at maximum comfort.”

Barry chuckled and started to pull off his pants when he froze.

“Uh …”

Lup blushed and then shook her head.

“Come on, Barry! I’ve seen more of you before!”

Barry laughed, blushing in return, before stripping off his jeans and shirt. He climbed under the covers.

Oh … No pajama pants … Lup thought, the blush deepening.

“Uh … I’ll … I’ll let you get to bed,” Lup stammered.

She was greeted by a soft snore.

She walked out the doorway and paused, looking back at Barry.

She had it bad.

~

Magnus sat outside the Starblaster. This world was much more relaxed than even the beach world. On his lap lay several puppies. He had not only become the guardian of the ship but also the guardian of a litter of small, mixed breed pups. He couldn’t move now. They were all asleep and all content.

He stared up at the sky, hoping that Taako and Lucretia would return soon from their quest to retrieve the light. If they got it, then this world would be safe, as would the litter of pups on his lap.

The mayor of the town was a doberman with a sweet but stern disposition. She had told them where the light had landed, but also asked Taako and Lucretia to grab a bone she had buried near the landing site. She couldn’t leave because running a town was difficult work, but she needed that bone.

Magnus shifted slightly, trying to get more comfortable while also being careful not to wake the sleeping puppies.

If only he could take them onboard and be certain that they would make it through the reset.

A bright light heralded the return of his two crew members. Lucretia carried the light while Taako carried a satchel.

“She paid us in dog biscuits,” Taako complained. “I guess we could make something with it if we don’t tell the rest of the crew - especially Lulu!”

Magnus put a finger up to his lips and pointed to the puppies. Lucretia looked to Taako with a knowing smile and then headed into the Starblaster.

Taako sighed and sat down next to Magnus.

“So … Still on puppy duty?”

“Yeah. No clue when mom is getting back this time. Not that I’m complaining!” Magnus smiled. “Want to hold one? You look like you need it.”

Taako wanted to say no, but the look on Magnus’s face rivaled the sickeningly adorable face of the sleeping puppies.

“Sure, what the hell?” Taako sighed. “Pass me the least shed-y one.”

Magnus looked them all over before handing Taako a black and tan puppy. Taako stroked her fur absentmindedly as Magnus leaned back.

“Dogs are just great, you know?” Magnus started. “They don’t judge. Not even here. Imagine it, a world that is just full of pure happiness …”

Taako hummed absentmindedly.

“Thank you for going to get the light,” Magnus smiled. “I … I didn’t want this world to die.”

“All in a day’s work for cha’boy,” Taako waved off.

“I … I’m sorry about the last world,” Magnus began.

Taako sighed.

“I just … I should have been there when Lup … I could have at least brought her back,” Magnus continued.

“Barry said it was a trophy hunter.”

“Yeah …”

They sat in silence.

“I missed you,” Magnus finally began. “I … I didn’t want to say anything to anyone but … I did. I know I’m supposed to be the strong one but I didn’t feel strong. I didn’t feel brave. I was scared. I was worried I’d never see you again.”

Taako blushed and looked down at the puppy. She nuzzled his hand and yawned.

“I … I’ve never been without my sister for longer than a few days and I guess I just … I couldn’t handle it, knowing I wouldn’t see her for a year. I’ve never known a time without her. She was born first and so .. Yeah … Twin stuff is weird, huh.”

Magnus gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Taako found himself leaning into him, resting his head against him.

Humans were strange. They were such a fragile, short lived species, but Taako found he loved them the most. It wasn’t even out of curiosity like with most elves.

They were a species that should be more frightened about death. More aware of their mortality.

Yet every human he had grown close to was so brave. So much braver than he was.

There was something special about Magnus as well. Something that pulled in Taako like a black hole, pulling in a star. If he stayed too close to Magnus, he would be pulled in completely. He already had almost given into his physical needs during his last “visit”. Now, even without being under the influence of Luume'irma, Taako wanted to be close to him. If he didn’t think that Magnus would question him, he would spend the night in his room instead of his own.

The puppies shifted and Taako looked down before looking up at Magnus. Magnus stared up at the sky, a smile ghosting his lips.

“This is nice,” he finally said.

“Yeah,” Taako agreed.

They sat in silence until the sun crested over the hill. The mother of the puppies would be back soon and then they could go about their day.

But Magnus didn’t want to move just yet.

And for once, neither did Taako.

~

As the Starblaster took off, the crew looked down as the world grew below shrank away. The most pure world they had visited would be safe. Magnus stood at the desk, a tear threatening to spill from his eye as they left his beloved dogs.

Taako and Lup stood together for a moment before Lup looked to Taako and gave his hand a squeeze. He nodded and walked over to Magnus, placing a hand on his back and his head on his shoulder.

Lup, meanwhile, turned her attention to Barry who stood at the deck, wringing his hands. She gently took one of them and squeezed.

“Maybe next year?” She smiled.

Barry smiled back.

“Yeah. Next year…”

He watched as the strings of light started to pull at her. He wanted to cherish this moment, holding her hand. Being with her.

But it was only a moment.

Barry blinked and everyone was back to their recorded states. He locked eyes with Lup.

Lup, who gave him a sincere, beautiful smile.

_This year_ , Barry thought.  _It's gotta be this year .._


	7. Cycle 45

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lup and Barry discuss names for their child. Lucretia writes things down.

_The IPRE has chosen you for this mission because of your ability to form strong bonds, as well as your scores on the entrance exams for the Institute. You will have a brief orientation before your training begins fully. We have attempted to accommodate for every need that the crew may have, but we are aware that some needs may have been overlooked. Please examine your file and verify that it is correct. Write any changes needed in black ink only, please._

_Please look over the employee handbook and verify that you have read all sections. The fraternization policy is there to ensure that no bonds are broken, so please refrain from any non-professional relationships with your crewmates. The bond engine is fragile and can easily be affected by changes in bonds._

_\- IPRE acceptance letter_

 

Barry and Lup had grown closer over the cycles. They hadn’t even intended it at first, finding themselves alone at nights in the lab or the kitchen, Taako having long retired to bed. The first few nights, they were somewhat clumsy, trying to navigate what they were now. They weren’t ready to admit their feelings - not yet. But they couldn’t ignore them.

Lup had made sure she survived each cycle now, not wanting to see either Barry or Taako suffer again. Barry did likewise. He had someone to live for, even if he didn’t tell her. They both needed to live. They needed to survive.

On the 45th cycle, Lup found herself becoming more physically close to Barry again. At first, she thought that her “visitor” had come, but soon she realized that, no, she just wanted to be close to Barry.

They kept it secret. Often Lup would slyly stretch herself out on the couch before leaning on Barry’s shoulders. Barry would absentmindedly stroke her hair as they relaxed on the deck.

When they had gone to track the light, they volunteered to go alone, again, this time being more careful of their surroundings. Taako knew why, of course, even if no one wanted to admit it.

Barry and Lup were in love.

They just needed to tell each other.

They were outside of a town where they had gotten a lead on the Light’s location when Lup brought it up.

“If we have a girl … What was your mother’s name?”

“Marlena,” Barry started, fondly. Lup lay, draped on his lap as they sat on the hill, watching people mill about outside the city walls. “If we have a boy, What was your father’s name?”

“Oh, we’re not naming him after my father,” Lup laughed, sending Barry’s heart to fluttering. “His name was Taako Su’prim. We will never hear the end of it from Taako.”

She got wistful and looked at Barry.

“Angus …”

“Hmm?”

“My uncle. He was always cheerful, even when his mind was going. He and my aunt …” Lup leaned her head on Barry’s knee. “They accepted us … They accepted me.”

They sat in silence for a moment, Barry gently stroking Lup’s ears. Then -

“Angus … I like it,” Barry smiled.

Lup looked up at him and rolled onto her back. Their eyes locked and Lup reached up, tracing her hand down Barry’s cheek.

“What are we?” she asked.

“Hmm?”

“Just … I … I don’t know what we are …” Lup pondered. “Like … After all of this … What will we be?”

“Parents?” Barry chuckled. “Honestly, I don’t know.”

“Me either,” Lup laughed, bitterly. “I guess we’ll find out?”

“Yeah …”

They looked into each other’s eyes for a while longer. Gold met green as the pair grew closer.

The sound of the gates opening and closing shook them out of their thoughts.

“Heh, looks like it’s time to head in?” Barry asked.

“We can wait … We have a year,” Lup smiled.

They stayed on the hill just a little while longer.

~

Lucretia was the chronicler. She was happy about it. She could easily blend into the background and disappear while everyone else existed around her.

She had spent some time with Taako, watching him cook, chronicling his recipes.

She spent time with Magnus, learning that their security officer had a soft side.

Merle and his plants were … interesting.

Davenport was the easiest because he could go on for hours about the ship. About the bond engine. About the mission.

Lup and Barry were scarce this cycle. Lucretia was a little saddened by this, but she also understood. This was like the novels she had read as a child.

Except, it was better.

And also more aggravating.

They loved each other. Everyone could see it. Everyone knew.

So why didn’t they?

She had heard Lup talking to Davenport and had written everything she had heard. She immediately felt guilty, but it was important.

Everything about the crew was important.

She sat on the deck and wrote. She drew. She did everything she could to try and make sure that everything the crew did was remembered.

That was her job.

She was the chronicler.

~

Lup and Barry took their time getting back to the Starblaster with the Light. They had an easy time convincing the Lord of the city to let them take it, Barry showing them his research on the Hunger so far. Lup had watched him explain his research and found herself completely entranced. She didn’t realize how much she hung on every word.

She wanted to spend more time with Barry. She would trace the runes on her abdomen at night and wonder if she really wanted the cycles to end just yet.

Once they ended, that would start the end for them as well.

She pushed the thought out of her mind.

Barry often caught Lup staring at him when she thought he wasn’t looking. He wanted to say something to her but at the same time, he couldn’t tell her. He didn’t want her to think that it was just because she was pregnant with his child. How could he tell her he had felt this way for decades now?

How could he tell her he had loved her for about half of his life?

At night, they would make camp wherever they could, Lup making sure to cast a light somewhere where Barry could be soothed by the glow. She found herself offering to keep watch most nights. She couldn’t tell him it was because she loved watching him sleep, the glow of the light she cast softly highlighting his calm face. She couldn’t tell him that she wanted to watch him, to make sure he woke up in the morning.

She found herself secretly planting a kiss on his temple, on his cheek, on his forehead. She couldn’t do it while he was awake. She kicked herself for it every night.

“What are we?” she asked herself.

When they made it back to the Starblaster, Lup found herself walking to Lucretia’s room. She knocked softly, hoping the chronicler was inside.

The door opened and Lucretia smiled.

“Can … Can I have you write some more stuff down?” Lup asked.

And she sat and told Lucretia everything she couldn’t tell Barry.

Later that evening, as Lup cooked with Taako, Barry told Lucretia what he couldn’t tell Lup.

And she wrote it down.

It needed to be remembered.


	8. Cycle 47

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lup and Barry create something new

** _Name Change Request Form_ **  
_Birth name: Sildar J Hallwinter_  
_Date of Birth: Month 7, Day 1, Year 1350 A.T._  
_Gender: Male_  
_Race: Human_  
_Desired name change: Barry J. Bluejeans_  
_Reason for changing name (optional): Bureaucratic bullshit._  
_Please submit your birth certificate and at least two forms of I.D. Please allow at least five business days for name changes to be processed. Remember to change all non-government related instances of your name. We cannot do this for you._

 

“I doubt blowing things up is going to impress the Light,” Lup groaned, looking over the paper she had been brainstorming on. “God, Barry, I can’t think of anything. This plane is fucked …”

She sat down and scribbled on her paper again. Barry watched her eyebrows furrow. He looked across the room and saw a piano.

He played once when he was young, his mother sitting him on her lap as she guided him through the notes. He walked over to it and sat down. His hands hovered over the keys for a moment before he started to play.

He wasn’t even sure what he was playing, but notes slowly came out. Lup looked over, her ears perking up.

“Barry … You play?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled, stopping. “Well, I did. When I was younger … I would sit on my mom’s lap and she would guide my hands to the right notes and … It was … It was nice.”

A nice memory.

Lup walked over to him and sat down next to him.

“Maybe that’s what you should present?” She asked. “A song?”

Barry blushed.

“Well, I don’t know about that. I haven’t played in years,” he started.

“Come on, Bare. It’s gotta be like riding a bike. In fact, the last time I played violin was when Taako and I were …”

She paused.

“Barry … What if we made something together? I mean, we already have but … They wouldn’t be ready,” she teased. “But … Maybe we create something else?”

Barry smiled at her.

“What were you thinking?” he asked, softly.

~

Magnus saw Lup come in to purchase a violin while he studied under the master carpenter. He smiled, excited to see what the older of the twins was going to present. Taako had made a big show of the thoughts he was going to take credit for and present, much to Magnus’ amusement.

Magnus looked down at his carving.

It was an amorphous blob right now. Nothing special. Nothing interesting.

He wasn't a creative type, normally. This wasn't in his wheelhouse at all. When he first joined the IPRE as security officer, he wasn't even sure why he had been chosen.

Taako and Lup were fantastic chefs and masters of their own schools of arcana.

Davenport was the strongest leader he had ever known. Merle, a talented healer who had been with the IPRE for a century before the mission training even began.

Lucretia and Barry were both human but they were humans with amazing abilities. They were smart. They were magic. Barry had dabbled in literally everything, from wizardry to being a rogue.

Magnus was … Magnus.

He sighed and continued to whittle. He thought back to one of his last days on his home world. Had it really been so long ago?

He had gone out with his mother’s dogs for a walk at a park. The largest dog, a mastiff, saw ducks in the water and wanted to splash after them, straining at the leash until it snapped. Magnus gave chase and splashed into the water after the dog who was playing, swimming, and chasing after the annoyed ducks. The dog would never hurt them, only wanting to play, but Magnus didn't need another ticket from the parks and recreation department.

He looked down and could almost feel the carving take shape.

Somewhere, within the cave that they thought held the light, a bond was formed.

~

The notes came easily to Lup when she looked at Barry.

She had played violin as a child, one of the many ways she and Taako paid their way on the road, but it had never felt this natural.

She had composed little songs here and there, but they were meant for Taako to dance for. They were meant to get them a hot meal and a bed.

This time was different.

Each note was how she felt about Barry. Each note was the love that had developed. Each note was the love they had created.

She used to close her eyes when she played.

Right now, she looked to Barry.

He looked to her and felt the chords come out just as naturally.

This love, it was different from anything he had felt before. He was no longer a child, sitting on his mother’s lap struggling with scales and arpeggios.

He was the lover and he was pouring his soul out to Lup.

He hoped she heard it.

He hoped she felt it.

~

Taako had been surprised the cave accepted his “works". As he saw Lup and Barry prepare, he could feel the nervousness radiating off of them.

If their work doesn't get accepted …

When they began to play, he realized something.

They never had to say anything to each other. He could hear it in their music. He could see it in how Lup looked to Barry, watching for her times to come in. Watching for when to change the tempo.

Working as a team.

As lovers.

He should have been afraid. He should have been afraid that now, the special closeness he had with Lup, the confidentiality they had, was going to forever be altered.

And in a way, it was.

But he was happy.

He was going to gain a brother. His sister was going to be happy.

He had gained family.

He could gain bonds.

~

They had rushed out as the song echoed through the world, hand in hand up to the conservatory. They needed to be alone.

They needed to talk.

Barry took Lup’s hands as they stood, breathless, in the empty practice hall.

“I … wow … Lup you are amazing.”

“You're brilliant,” she whispered back. “I … I never realized that we could …”

“Yeah …”

They stared into each other’s eyes, the realization as what they had done, what they had said, was dawning.

“Barry … the whole world knows,” Lup began, breaking the silence.

“But do you know?” Barry asked, gently placing his hand on her cheek.

She leaned into it and closed her eyes, her ears relaxing slightly.

“Do you?” she purred. “Do you know just how much I love you? How much I've loved you all this time?”

Barry tilted her chin up.

Their first kiss, forty-seven years ago, had been messy, frenzied, and frantic in a smoky tavern. They had kissed many times in that week, unsure where they would stand when it was over.

This was their first kiss where they knew.

They emerged from the conservatory a couple of hours later, as the gala just beginning. If the rest of the crew knew what Lup and Barry had been up to, they didn't let on, save for a relieved smile from Davenport as he saw their fingers loosely intertwined as they mingled.

They excused themselves from the party later that evening, the crew needing no explanation. They walked hand in hand to the ship, Barry suddenly nervous even though he knew he didn’t need to be.

They stopped at Barry’s room and Lup pressed her lips to his, reaching behind him to open his door.

He looked up at her, questioning look in his eyes.

The fiery grin she gave in return was enough of an answer and the pair darted into the room.

~

Magnus knew, of course, why Barry wasn’t as upset as he should have been when he heard the news about the Light of Creation in the morning. Barry was half of the reason why Magnus needed to do his midnight run in the first place. Why he couldn’t sleep at all that night.

Regardless, he watched the Starblaster take off and wondered how much searching the pair was actually going to do.

He’d been in that honeymoon phase before, granted it hadn’t been after forty-seven years of pining, but still …

He sat, carving another duck for his new friend, before a twinge of worry ran through him.

If they didn’t find the light, these creatures would die.

All of the music, the stories, the art - the memories - they would all die with them.

He knew that, even without the distraction, Lup and Barry would never find the Light of Creation. He didn’t need to be on the ship with them,to cross the ocean to know this.

He had to come up with another option.

He looked back down at the duck.

He had not been able to save so many on their quest. He had failed on so many planets. Sure, he had generally been able to keep his crew safe, but all of these people who had no idea what was coming to them, who had no idea the horror that would happen to them within a year of their landing - He had failed so many of them when the Light couldn’t be found.

This world would be different.

He was going to save these creatures.

He returned to the cave with his newest duck.


	9. Cycle 64

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry thinks about the future. Taako has a nightmare.

_Elven pregnancies start with similar symptoms to those of other humanoid species. The elf in question will experience nausea and loss of appetite, as well as occasional cramping when implantation occurs. Odd cravings can occur, and elves are especially prone to pica. Many elves with non-elven partners have experienced tension in their relationships due to this. Be careful to not allow poisonous non-food items to be consumed. On occasion, elves have been reported to crave blood, though this may just be an old wives tale._

_Elves can also become more withdrawn in their first and fourth quarters of their pregnancies. They are also known to have heightened senses and can be more defensive during the first quarter. Do not mistake this defensiveness for aggressiveness._

_Pregnancies that occurred from the union between an elf and a human can lead to more dramatic versions of common symptoms._

_\- What to Expect When You’re an Expectant Elf_

 

He couldn’t sleep.

He had left Lup, asleep, in their bed, carefully shrugging on a pair of pajama bottoms (he would prefer to not get caught in his boxers again), before heading up to the deck of the Starblaster.

The realization had fully hit him during the fiftieth cycle. He had seen a couple on the street. An elderly human woman and her elven wife were walking down the road, the elf helping her along. His heart broke for the elf. She looked youthful and spirited, but her human partner was not going to be around for much longer. He tried to shake the image from his mind at the time, but seeing the elf, alone, a few months later had cemented it.

This was Lup’s future.

This was his child’s future.

How long would his child have both of their parents? Forty years? Thirty? There was no way he was going to make it to see one hundred years.

Sure, his child would be able to start being on their own by the time he died, but he would just be a flicker in his child’s life.

And Lup … she loved so deeply that he didn’t know if she would survive losing him.

He didn’t know how many more cycles he had with her. How many more until he started aging again?

How many more until each birthday would be a countdown to heartbreak.?

He paced on the deck. He couldn’t let her know that this was bothering him.

He couldn’t let her think that this was somehow her fault.

He watched as the first light started to dawn. He still had trouble getting used to the lack of a binary solar system. Lup would probably wake up in an hour, but he wanted to spend some of that time holding her.

He made his way back down to his room and shrugged off his pajama bottoms, crawling into bed next to her. He felt her push herself into his arms, a soft sigh escaping her lips. He kissed her neck and closed his eyes, pressing his face into her dark hair.

He wished he could stay in this moment forever.

~

Magnus had not expected Taako to knock on the door late in the night.

This particular world had been calm with no sentient life to speak of. On warm nights, bioluminescent insects would swarm up into the skies, dazzling the crew with their brilliant displays - or as Merle unhelpfully called it, the “bug orgy”.

Magnus was therefore surprised when Taako came into his room, his eyes darting around in fear.

“What’s up, Taako?” Magnus asked, starting to sit up.

“I … I need to get out of my room. Too many nightmares in that bed. I can’t sleep …”

Magnus scooted over, letting Taako crawl onto the bed next to him. Magnus expected Taako to just lay off to the side.

Instead, the elf wrapped his arms around Magnus’ torso and buried his face in his chest.

It wasn’t very long before Magnus felt the tears.

He had known Taako long enough not to say anything. Instead, he gently stroked the elf’s hair, occasionally stopping to scratch behind one of his ears. He felt Taako calm down somewhat and looked down at him. Taako refused to meet Magnus’ eyes, but he spoke anyway.

“She … She was gone, Mags. Not like thirty years ago. She was gone. Forever. And no one cared! And … And I couldn’t stop her … Mags .. I can’t do this … What if she dies and she doesn’t come back? What if any of you die and don’t come back? I can’t …”

Taako sobbed again and Magnus pulled him in closer.

He knew he was one of two people alive who had ever seen Taako like this.

The other one was asleep in her room, he knew. He almost wanted to get her, to have her help comfort Taako.

But he had to admit to himself that he was selfish. He loved being able to have these moments with Taako. Where Taako could be himself. Where Magnus could see the side that was underneath the carefully crafted persona.

Taako fell asleep in Magnus’ arms and Magnus pulled him in as close as he could.

When he was younger, his mother and father made him sleep with a weighted blanket. Having had traumatic experiences in his early childhood had led to many a sleepless night, but the weight let him sleep comfortably.

He would be the weighted blanket for Taako.

He would protect him as long as he was able to.

~

Davenport was alone.

Again.

He wanted Merle to stop.

He wanted him to stay.

He sighed and poured himself a glass of brandy. Taako had pilfered it off of one of their first worlds, but he had been savoring it, knowing that they would never have this bottle again.

He could have poured Merle a glass, if he hadn’t …

He sighed and downed the glass. There was still a sizeable amount left. He had to keep himself from drinking all of it.

A soft knock on the door almost caused him to drop the decanter.

“Captain Davenport, sir? May I come in?” he hear Lucretia’s soft voice ask.  
“Of course!” he called, setting down his decanter as the door opened.

Everything about Lucretia was quiet. Everything about her was small and unobtrusive.

She had only been in her twenties when this mission started. Only a child, in Davenport’s eyes, yet to a human, she was expected to be an adult. He had watched her, even when she thought no one noticed, and saw how careful she was. She had only died once on their entire journey, having fallen while chronicling. She still would leave the ship, but she was cautious.

Always cautious.

“I erm … I have a report from Lup and Barry on the Light of Creation, if you would like to see it, sir.”

He smiled.

“Lucy, it’s been sixty-four years. You can call me Davenport. No need to call me ‘sir’.”

She blushed, embarrassed, and nodded.

“Erm … Yes, well s-Davenport … Um … Barry and Lup have a couple of theories with the Light. That it is something that is easily craved. They subjected it to a couple tests during the last cycle and I have the results here. I guess we'll have more if Magnus and Taako can find it this cycle but … yeah …”

She handed Davenport her journal and he looked down at it and set it off to the side.

“Lucy, tell me about yourself,” Davenport started.

“Sir?”

“I've never taken the time to ask and … well, I'm fixing that.”

Lucretia stammered for a moment and then took a deep breath.

“I … I came from a really poor family,” she began. “I was the only one to make it to university. I … I faked my age when I joined the IPRE,” she chuckled. “The application said the age requirement was twenty one. I didn't turn twenty one for another month so … I'm glad I did it,” she blushed, ducking her head

“As am I.”

“I had a girlfriend …”

“Oh …”

“Yeah … I … didn't tell anyone. I mean, we weren't that serious yet but …”

Davenport nodded, sympathetically.

Other than the twins, he hadn't left anyone.

Instead, someone always left him …

“What about you?” Lucretia asked. “I feel like I don’t know anything about you …”

Davenport smiled sadly.

“This has been my life,” he sighed. “I’ve been a member of the IPRE as long as it has been around. I’ve been working on this ship … this engine for years. This mission has been my life. I’m … I’m kind of afraid of what’s going to happen when we finally get home - if we finally get home. I want to believe that there will be another mission. That there will be a home to go back to but … Even if we find a place - a safe place, away from the hunger, I don’t know what I’ll even do. I can’t just live in a quiet home with a white picket fence. Not now. Not after everything I’ve seen.”

Lucretia had been writing the entire time. Davenport wasn’t even sure where she had kept the journal - perhaps it was a magic that only Lucretia possessed, but he was relieved to get it out.

To tell someone.

Because Lucretia would keep his thoughts safe.

~

Home was gone.

Parents, family, matriarch … all gone.

The world was confined to this strange cave. This strange, silver cave.

The man was kind and visited often, but he wasn’t family.

The woman watched and wrote and fed them but … she wasn’t family either.

Where were the others? What had happened to them?

They missed them.

They missed their home.

They ate devoured the stories the were fed and shared them with their companions. That’s what they were right?

They couldn’t be family.

They were not like them.

The man who made ducks often told them what happened, but they couldn’t understand. They had never experienced anything like this.

They missed their home.

So they sang.

~

Magnus and Barry stood, back to back, as the Hunger’s army arrived.

Another planet lost.

The rest of the crew was safe on the ship, but they couldn’t make it in time. Magnus watched as Barry cast spell after spell, furiously. He tried to keep the army back, tried to keep the Hunger at bay.

The pair looked up for a moment to see the ship weave up and away.

Relief washed over them. Barry smiled up at the ship. He would see her soon.

He was about to cast again when he felt a sharp pain run through him. Magnus staggered back, his eyes wide in shock as Barry looked down.

A black tendril had impaled him.

Barry smiled at Magnus.

“Well, we’ll get ‘em next time …”

The strings of light took them away.


	10. Cycle 69

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lup and Taako take shifts. Lup gets an idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for implied miscarriage

** _First Written Warning_ **  
_Employee name: Taako LASTNAME_  
_Age: 80_  
_Race: Elf_  
_Complaint: It has come to the attention of the head Tortle of the administration office, that Taako LASTNAME was involved in changing the name of one “Sildar J Hallwinter” to “Barry J Bluejeans” in the official IPRE records. An investigation is still underway on how this was achieved, however due to the speed at which the Tortles in the administration office are able to work, this name change will not be resolved for fifty (50) years. Taako LASTNAME is to be coached on this issue and reminded that, while this can be a fun prank between elves, this is a serious matter for more short-lived races, like humans._

Taako was on the day-time shift while Lup took the night shift.

They had grown up alone. For so many years, it had been just the two of them.

Why was it so hard to adjust to that this cycle?

Lucretia had been the first to die of the disease. A disease that not even Merle could cure. A disease that soon took their healer as well.

The fever had happened first, then the delirium, the coma, and then death.

Davenport had held out, trying to keep the twins from worrying, but he succumbed in his sleep one night without ever having let on he was sick.

Magnus and Barry had lingered for a few weeks, the twins curling up around them to try to keep them warm as they lay on the couch. Lup wasn’t sure which of the two had died first but one night they were there and in the morning, they weren’t.

Then, after losing Barry and Magnus, Lup lost her child, like she had during so many deceptively safe cycles now.

They were alone. And they hated it.

They quickly learned that there were no humanoid races on this planet, save for elves. Something about the planet was toxic to all other humanoids. Lup had not wanted to spend any time outside of the ship, worried that somehow she and Taako would be lost as well. That they would never get home. Would never see their friends again.

But Taako had insisted. They needed to find the light. They needed to carry on.

For once, Taako was the one to spur them on.

Lup chronicled her nightly journeys in Lucretia’s absence while Taako chronicled his daily ones. Fischer seemed to watch as the pair would compare notes in front of his tank.

“So, it looks like the Light may have fallen into the mountains, if the Moon Elves are to be believed,” Taako began.

“Yeah … That’s what I noticed when I spoke to a few Wood Elves last night,” Lup sighed. “They were wary of that area though. If you want, I can go and check it out tonight.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah … I mean, I’m the evocation specialist. I have the most damage spells.”

Taako smirked.

“You just don’t want to be in the ship at night, huh?”

“Sue me,” Lup snarked. “I can’t sleep, Taako. I can’t sleep and I can’t meditate. It’s too quiet in here. I … I don’t like it.”

“I know.”

“And if you go out and it goes bad … Taako you’re better at being on the ship … at being the only one … I can’t do it. I can’t be alone, Koko.”

“You saw how well it went when you died,” Taako sighed. “I can’t be alone either.”

Lup and Taako sat in silence for a moment. Lup looked down at her notes.

“Koko, I promise … I’m not going to die …” she started. “Not this time. I promise.”

Taako laughed.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep sis.”

They spent the evening, cooking side by side. Lup needed to leave this happy memory with Taako, just in case.

As Taako lay down on the couch, Lup left her note.

_“Back soon.”_

~

_“Lup … don- don’t worry.”_

_“No, Bare, we got this.”_

_“Yeah, we elves can be personal furnaces,” Taako tried to laugh. He looked at Magnus who shivered in response._

_“It's ok. I'll … next cycle."_

_Lup’s ears drooped as she curled up tighter._

_She knew, of course, that he would die. He and Magnus would die. They didn't want them to. They didn't want to lose anyone else._  
_Why then? Why did everyone except the twins get sick?_

_Why did everyone except the twins die?_

_“Lulu, you can sleep if you need to,” Taako whispered._

_“I'm ok.”_

_Neither twin remembered falling asleep, but Lup instantly felt the stillness when she woke up._

_“B-Barry?” She whispered._

_No response._

_Taako meanwhile was trying to shake Magnus awake._

_“Mags! Get up! Come on, Mags! Please!”_

_Lup stared at her boyfriend's corpse._

_He looked so peaceful. So pale._

_She felt a sharp pain._

~

She shook herself out of the memory and made her way through the woods, heading towards the mountains. The jagged peaks were highlighted by the reflection of the two full moons that hung in the sky. She was grateful for that at least. She didn’t want to cast light and draw attention to herself. If there was something dangerous in the mountains, she didn’t want to run into it.

She heard the whispered voices ahead and ducked into the bushes, silently stalking towards the voices.

They spoke in hushed whispers in a form of elvish she hadn’t heard in ages. She swiveled her ears forward and listened.

“Why won’t it let us raise our former leader? We need him so we can take back our forest!” a voice rasped.

“I don’t know! It is powerful enough it should work! Perhaps the spell was done wrong?”

“We need to try it again! Go out and get the components!”

Lup crouched lower as she watched a pair of drow rush past her. She waited until they had run down the path she had come and then stalked forward. She saw the glow first, from inside the cave, and then saw the drow that had remained. He was tall and thin for a drow and was adorned in a black hooded cloak. He pored over his books, seemingly looking for the answer to raising the dead.

Lup gathered her components and cast sleep.

The drow fell like a rock.

Lup scrambled over to the Light of Creation, grabbing it off of the pedestal before noticing the books that lay about.

Necromancy had never been an offered as an elective when she was in school. She looked down at the drow. It would be a while before anyone else would be back.

She quickly bound the drow and then looked over the books, reading through them as quickly as possible, skimming over the contents until she arrived on a few possibilities.

It would be a hard sell, but perhaps she could sell it to Barry.

The drow awakened sometime later, noticing right away that he was bound tight. He looked up to see Lup, casually reading his texts on various necromantic practices. At her feet was his text on liches. His eyes widened.

If that sun elf has already read that one ...

“Ah, you’re awake,” she began, nonchalantly. “As you can see, I have you captive. So you’re going to tell me all you know about ways to escape such petty restrictions as death. If I don’t like the answer, I’ll fucking kill you.”

He didn’t know it, but Lup was trembling inside. She didn’t want to kill anyone. She wasn’t even sure if she would be able to sell this to the crew. To Barry.

But she thought of Taako. She thought of Lucretia, alone for a year.

She couldn’t let that happen again.

“Fuck you!” The drow hissed.

Lup pressed her wand to his cheek, casting a spell to heat it up. Not enough to kill. Just enough to hurt.

The drow hissed and screamed.

“Tell me.”

“It’s impossible!” The drow hissed.

“Tell me.”

“No one has been able to do it!”

“Do what?” she growled, trying to seem braver than she was.

“No one can become a lich!” He cried out. “My cult doesn’t know it, but it’s impossible! You can’t create a stable enough anchor to do it! Not even with this Light that fell from the sky!”

Lup snapped to attention.

She knew what liches were. She had heard theories about them. She had looked over a book in secret but got bored quickly while reading it. It hadn’t interested her at the time.

It interested her now.

“A lich? What do you mean an anchor?”

“A lich needs an anchor in order to stay stable. In order to stay … themselves. But … no one’s been able to do it! Negative emotions take over too easily! There’s no way!”

“Tell me … tell me everything you know,” She started. “I’ll … I’ll let you live … I’ll let your whole cult live and I’ll even save your world if you tell me!”

The drow closed his eyes. He didn’t have a choice.

“I have theories in a chest in the back of the cave,” he started. “They’re only theories … They … They haven’t worked yet but if you can make them work, then go right ahead.” The drow laughed bitterly and looked up at Lup. “You better have a good, fucking anchor if you’re going to even attempt this.”

Lup looked down at the books.

“I’m taking these too … I’m sure there’s more here, but the lich stuff … that might be our plan b,” she went to the back of the cave and rummaged through the chest, stashing away the books into her pack. Satisfied with how much material she was able to carry, she untied the drow and started for the cave entrance.

Then she stopped.

“One question … Why is it that there are only elves here? I had human, dwarven, and gnomish companions when I arrived … Why did they get sick but my brother and I didn’t?”

“Our cult … We didn’t need any non-elves here … Elves are more likely to be agreeable to our … cause. So, we blighted the air.”

Lup cast scorching ray and didn’t look back.

~

Taako had been holding the note since he woke up.

He knew, of course, that she would be back. She had promised she would be back. She had promised she wouldn’t die.

He still didn’t completely believe it.

He tried to cook, hoping that a repetitive action would soothe him, but all it did was make him more nervous.

She was supposed to be back in the morning, but she wasn’t back yet. He hadn’t seen any sign of her.

That is until he went onto the deck and saw smoke curling up from the mountains.

He nearly ran out to find her when he looked down at the ground to see Lup trudging through the woods. His heartbeat started to slow down as he breathed a sigh of relief.

Lup was alive.

She hoisted the Light over her head and Taako whooped out a cheer.

If he had noticed the nervousness she felt, he never said anything.

That night, as Taako packed up for a morning excursion for supplies, Lup pored over the books she had pilfered.

There were a lot of theories about arcana that didn’t make sense, but she knew that if she could get Barry on board with it, then they could figure this out.

One word kept echoing through her mind.

_Anchor …_

The thought bounced around in her mind as she scanned the books throughout the year. There had to be something there.

If they had another cycle like their sixty-fifth …

She closed the books and tried to sleep, curling up around Barry’s pillow. He would be back in a few months. She knew this.

But she hated being alone.


	11. Cycle 80

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry offers assistance. Taako opens up. Barry's mini-arc is resolved.

_The average Elven gestation period is two years. This is the same across the board for all unions of different sub-races of elves. Unions with dwarves, gnomes, and orcs can lead to much longer gestation periods, which is an explanation for why such unions are rare._

_When a half-elf has a human parent, then the gestation period can be wildly unpredictable. Human mothers of half elf children are extremely rare as most cannot survive a pregnancy that goes much longer than the natural human one without magical intervention. If the mother is an elf, then the gestation period can be anywhere from twenty months to the elven gestation period of two years._

_Gestation is a dangerous time for elves, much like with other species, as most of their energy and magic goes towards providing for growing offspring. Their bodies will be weaker than normal and it is imperative that bed rest be offered regularly for those who have had a union with a non-elf._

_-Fantasy Midwifery_

 

“Well, I’ve studied the texts and I think I know what we’ll need to do,” Barry started, rubbing the back of his neck, nervously. “Just … We need to be careful, Lup. What about …”

Lup looked down.

“I’ve been worried about that too,” she sighed. “I … I don’t know what it will do to my body. To my recorded state …”

“Yeah …”

They sat in silence for a while, poring over the texts. The rest of the crew was sound asleep, tomorrow being another day of searching for the Light. Barry massaged his temples.

“Maybe … Maybe tomorrow I’ll go into town and see if I can find anything in their library. This plane seems pretty open-minded.”

“Ok,” Lup sighed into her mug of tea.

Barry looked up at her. She looked so tired. Her body had decided this was a safe cycle and so the crew forbade her from leaving the ship. It was too dangerous and it was better anyway if someone stayed on the ship.

He could tell she hated this. That she didn’t want to be by herself like this.

“Lup … We’ll figure this out … We’re getting close and you’re right. This is the best bet we have. Someone will always be around … Just …”

Barry ran his fingers through his hair. He had argued to be the one to become a lich many times and it had led to an argument every time. He wasn’t sure if this third option would even work. He had to try.

“Why you?” He asked, finally

She looked up.

“Really?”

“Why you, Lup? Why do you want to do this?”

She set her mug down.

“I’ve told you before, Barry. I’m the strongest arcanist here. I could survive this. And even if I couldn’t -”

“What I mean …” Barry started. “Lup … I’ve also been thinking about when this all ends. When we are finally free of this and you have our child and … I don’t want you to be alone in fifty years.”

Lup’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“What …”

“Lup, I know you hate being alone and I know that if we were to have a cycle where everyone died and you were by yourself … Your anchor - I don’t think it would be strong enough to withstand it.”

“What are you saying Barry?” Lup asked.

Why was he still harping on this? It had to be her. If something happened to Barry, if her experiments went wrong and he was irreparably damaged…

No, she had to be the one. It was her idea. She had to be the one to make the sacrifice.

“Lup .. You don’t have to do it alone.”

She looked up.

“What?”

“I’ve been looking through your notes. I’ve been going over theories that I kind of remember from the only year that Professor Warren was allowed to teach and, well … Maybe it doesn’t have to be just one of us … Maybe we can be each other’s anchor …”

Lup searched his eyes for any fear. For anything that could convince her to say no.

All she saw was love.

“But .. Barry … if it goes wrong …”

“It won’t,” he whispered. “I know it won’t as long as I have you.”

~

Barry had chosen Taako to go with him.

Taako would have to find out eventually. He was the safest one to accompany Barry to the Library.

“So, I’m going to go check out the cooking section,” Taako yawned as Barry tried to figure out this planar system’s dewey decimal system. “So, you can come get me later, I guess. Or I’ll come over and check to see if you’ve been buried in a nerd avalanche.”

Barry hummed in response and Taako rolled his eyes, making his way to the cookbooks. He needed new ideas and new recipes. The crew had to be getting tired of the same food all the time.

He felt a strange itch in his mind. Something was wrong.

He sat down on the floor with a cookbook about cuisine that belonged to the lands to the north when he felt the discomfort start.

It was a week early.

He looked around. He couldn’t just meditate here in the library. He would need a full day for it to do any good. But he couldn’t couldn’t comfortably get up either. He looked around, trying to keep himself from crying out.

Every sense was heightened. He smelled the perfume of the librarian all the way at the entrance, the scent making him sick. He could hear the sound of a man’s tongue moving around in his mouth as he sat several rows down. He could feel the scratchiness of his robe and the heat from his poor fashion choice.

_Jacket AND robe? Really Taako?_

He needed to get back to the Starblaster but he couldn’t move.

The hours ticked by. Taako looked around. Where the hell was Barry? Taako wasn’t sure if elves went through this every decade here, so he didn’t want to make a scene. Even worse would be if the elves here did.

He could feel himself tremble.

The feelings that came to his mind disturbed him. He clamped his eyes shut and tried to block everything out.

He heard footsteps.

_Chewing._

_Tapping._

_Scraping._

_Talking._

“Taako? Taako!”

He looked up, his head swimming. Barry came into focus in front of him.

“Hey, hey. Taako, buddy … Are you ok? Sorry I took so long. I was copying down notes because I didn’t want to rent the books and …”

“Early …” Taako finally spit out.

“What?” Barry asked before realization dawned on him. “Oh. Oh! Ok, Taako, I’ll get you back to the ship.”

Taako shivered, curling in on himself as Barry lifted him up.

He could feel and hear Barry’s heartbeat and felt his own calm down. Barry was safe. He could get him somewhere where he wouldn’t be bothered.

He could smell the musty smell of books on him. It was a comforting smell that reminded him of home.

“Barold … I need to focus on something else,” he whimpered.

“Uh … Tell me about the early days. About when you first joined the IPRE … Think back to then,” Barry said. He’d had to be there for Taako one cycle when Magnus had been gone and learned that sometimes, Taako needed to ramble about the past in order to get his mind away from the feelings that made him uncomfortable.

“The early days … When Lup and I were in the academy, we got administrative assistant jobs to pay the rest of our way,” he mumbled. “She was really responsible. She took the privacy policies so seriously.”

Barry hummed in response, weaving around the crowded streets as he carried Taako.

“‘Taako, don’t steal the office supplies. Taako, stop transmuting the coffee. Taako, stop changing people’s names in the IPRE’s records -”

Barry’s ears perked at that.

“Wait, what?”

“Oh? I never told you? It was a prank I learned from other administration jobs. The folks in charge were always Tortles and it was always fun to see how long it took them to fix it. Well, I’d only ever worked with elves before and so I kinda forgot that other species don’t live long enough for the prank to get reversed,” he giggled. “I did it a couple of times in the IPRE … Heh, there was this one time that I did it to a human. I got in so much trouble-”

The realization dawned on both Taako and Barry at the same moment. Barry’s grip tightened as Taako momentarily sobered up.

“Oh shit-”

“ _You son of a bitch!_ ” Barry grumbled.

~

Lup sat, waiting for Barry.

She hated this. She hated that she couldn’t leave the ship.

But this cycle was the worst yet for her, regarding symptoms. She hadn’t been able to eat most of the time, dealing with extreme pain and nausea for much of earlier parts of her pregnancy. When she could eat, she found cravings even more bizarre. One night, she even craved blood. She was too hot. She was too cold.

Even when the initial symptoms died down, she still was extremely uncomfortable. She wished she could meditate.

  
She heard the door to the lab open and carefully turned toward the door. She saw Barry, flowers in hand, and smiled.

This was all going to be worth it.

She wanted this now. She wanted a family, with Barry.

It would be worth all of this pain. All of these cycles.

“Hey,” Barry smiled.

“Hey,” Lup responded, patting the stool next to her. “Find anything new?”

“Well, I think I found some runes that will make it so our bodies are not affected by this change. If we tweak them a bit, then we might be able to make sure that … if you still want …”

Lup pressed her forehead to Barry’s, purring softly.

“I do …”

Barry chuckled.

“So … When are you telling Taako?”

“I have no idea,” Lup laughed. “I think, once we’ve figured it out for sure … once we know that we’re ready, then I’ll tell him. If I tell him now and he objects, it will be pretty hard to go around him to keep studying.”

They kissed softly and then turned to the books, Barry showing Lup what she had found and Lup comparing the notes to her own knowledge of the arcane.

They would do this together.

~

Magnus woke up to Taako pressed close to him. The elf had wrapped his entire body around the human during the night and currently had his face pressed into his neck. He stroked Taako’s hair, absentmindedly, as he stared at the door.

In only a few hours, Taako would be gone and back to being aloof. He would be lucky if he had this closeness with him again before the decade was over. He didn’t want to seem bitter about it, but he would miss this.

He felt Taako shift in his arms and gently scratched the elf behind his ears, eliciting a soft purr.

The cold hands suddenly snaking up underneath his shirt nearly made him jump out of his skin. Magnus looked down to see Taako’s arms wrapped around his waist, underneath his nightshirt.

“Uh … Taako?” Magnus asked, surprised.

“Cold. You’re warm,” Taako mumbled.

This was new.

Even on cold worlds, Taako had never gone for this type of closeness. It was too uncomfortable for him. He had no desire to open up and Magnus had no desire to push.

“Do you need me to get another blanket?” Magnus asked.

Taako squeezed tighter.

“Don’t move.”

“O-K,” Magnus replied, wrapping his arms around Taako.

Taako melted into his arms and sighed.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“Of course,” Magnus began. “I’ll try to make sure I don’t die during our ninetieth year,” he joked.

“Better not,” Taako whispered. “Better not die any more …”

Magnus froze for a moment before he realized what Taako had actually said.

_Oh …_

“I’ll … I’ll try not to.”

“Good,” Taako insisted, burying his face into Magnus’ chest before falling asleep.

Magnus shouldn’t have been surprised when, for the remainder of the cycle, and indeed for many cycles after, Taako was a constant fixture in his room. He didn’t spend every night in there, but often, even on nights when Taako was completely content, he spent the night talking about past cycles and old gossip with his elven companion, waking up to his sleeping form in his arms.

He wanted to get used to this.

~

Barry traced the runes on Lup’s abdomen. There had to be something that would work with the runes that would be needed for her to become a lich.

He felt the small bump and smiled, sadly. Another year where everything would reset. Another year where they had been so close. Where they could have had their child. They could have had their family within a family. Where Taako could meet his niece or nephew.

Lup was humming a song she remembered from her childhood. Barry had heard her hum it occasionally during this cycle, her low singing voice sending chills down his spine. It was one thing that had always fascinated him about elves. Regardless of where they came from, elves prided themselves in their penchant for song. Often, when he and Lup had practiced in the conservatory, all those years ago, he would hear her singing the violin part to their song, matching each note perfectly. Sometimes she would unconsciously harmonize. Sometimes, her voice would hit registers he didn’t think it could.

As he heard her singing in elvish, he noticed the melody change.

She had worked in their song. The song of their love.

He listened, one hand gently on her abdomen, as she sang. He still hadn’t completely learned the sun elf dialect, but the song made his heart soar anyway.

They fell asleep side by side, Barry’s hands still absentmindedly tracing runes on Lup’s abdomen.

He was so close.

They were both so close.


	12. Cycle 83

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew reacts to Lup and Barry's decision. Plans are made. Lup and Barry make a connection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be on Faerun! Enjoy this little respite of fluff because next one will be a little ... less fluffy.

_Elven behavior can become erratic the closer an elf is to giving birth. Unlike most races, elves will become anxious and long to travel away from their home. Usage of calming spells from clerics will help with this, however it is important to observe an elf during the last stage of pregnancy as they will try to hide their symptoms._

_Elves will often die in childbirth due to succumbing to the instinctual desire to hide._

_\- What to Expect When You’re an Expectant Elf_

“Um … What the _fuck_?” Magnus asked.

Lup and Barry looked away from the rest of the crew.

“Um … Well, we found a way to get around the whole , ‘Can’t lose the whole crew in a cycle thing’,” Barry started.

“By becoming liches?” Merle asked. “You don’t think there was a better way of doing this?”

“The year with the Judges it … It scared us,” Lup started. “We can’t afford for anything like that to happen again! And it worked! We’re still here and we’re still us!”

“Lup …” Lucretia started. “What about your child?”

“Barry and I … we figured out how to only affect the soul. Our bodies should return to their recorded states every cycle … everything should return … Everything had to stay the same. If I lost a limb or Barry got stabbed, then it would have to be fixed by the time the cycle resets, right? It’s no different here! We just added a few extra runes and components to make sure!”

Davenport had been silent, something that was worrying to everyone in the room. He looked up at Lup and Barry and sighed.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” he finally asked.

“We … We needed to do this. We didn’t want to be persuaded not to,” Lup sighed. “And … I know we should have said something but we knew .. We knew that there was no way anyone except for Taako would be alright with this …”

“Of course,” he sighed. “Just … We’re a crew, right? We’ve been together for eighty-three years … We should be able to trust each other.”

Lup and Barry looked away.

“We should. It’s just … some habits are hard to break,” Lup whispered.

“Well, you do seem stable,” Davenport sighed. “Just … please … next time you decide to do something that might affect the crew and our bonds, please ask. Please tell us … Even if you’re going to do it anyway.”

They looked back up and around the room. Taako shrugged, Magnus looked confused, Lucretia was writing and Merle …

“Well, I need to check and see how well you two supposedly did,” the dwarf sighed, motioning for Lup to follow him.

“Do you want me to come with?” Barry asked.

Merle shrugged.

“Whatever. If it failed, then I guess you can see why you don’t do this shit.”

~

Taako sat outside the sick bay, Lucretia sitting on the floor across the hallway.

“So … They’ve been in there a while,” Taako sighed. “How much do you want to bet they fucked something up?”

Lucretia didn’t answer. She just stared between her journal and Lup and Barry’s notes.

“I … Hmm … Well, knowing them, they probably figured something out. Most of their spell theories have been flawless and airtight,” she started. “Looking at their notes, I can’t find anything wrong - about any of this. Granted, they have a couple decades on me,” she blushed.

  
“Yeah, I keep forgetting you humans are actually so young,” Taako laughed.

“Yeah …”

“Hey, not a dig on you guys! I just forget,” Taako laughed. “I guess that was one bit of good that’s come out of this whole thing. Lup isn’t going to be losing Barry any time soon,” he sighed.

Lucretia nodded and then started working on her journal some more. They sat in silence until Lup came out of the room.

“Well, our kid made it through the jump,” she smiled. “Barry’s getting read the riot act in there, however. For some reason, Merle thinks this was his fault. Something about Barry’s Year 9 research paper or something. I had no clue Merle was his counselor.”

Taako laughed, nervously.

“So … You don’t feel any different?”

“Nah,” Lup smiled. “Just same ol’ Lup.”

Lucretia continued to scribble in her journal.

“Come on, Koko, let’s go get dinner started. Barry will join us eventually!”

Taako followed Lup, looking back at Lucretia who was staring at her journal with a furrowed brow.

~

The rest of the crew was away, so Lup and Barry were able to rest on the couch, curled up together.

They talked about a world where they could live in a home, big enough for their entire family. They couldn’t imagine not living with the rest of the crew after all these years.

They talked about a yard, a dog for Magnus, a giant kitchen.

A greenhouse where Merle could be weird, away from everyone else.

Most of all, they talked about their child. Their child who Barry would be able to watch grow up.

Their child who still would not come. Not this year.

This year, they had yet to find the light.

And they were going to eventually lose a crew member to parley.

“Since this won’t be the year and I haven’t been as sick, think that I can go with you on the next survey?” Lup asked, her fingers intertwined with Barry’s.

“I don’t see why not,” Barry kissed into Lup’s forehead. “I miss having you on surveys with me.”

“I miss it too.”

They sat in silence for a moment before Barry pulled Lup even closer.

“I was thinking of going to the south to look tomorrow,” Barry started. “Maybe there will be someone down there who we can talk to about the light.”

Lup mused aloud, “Taako had said there wasn’t anyone to the north. I wonder if we got another uninhabited plane.”

“Maybe …”

“We could probably sneak off somewhere here and no one would know.”

“Or it would echo through the whole plane,” Barry chuckled. “Like during the day you planned for me,” he teased.

“You liked it and you know it,” Lup teased back, playfully nibbling Barry’s neck.

Barry laughed before Lup pulled him down with her on the couch. Their eyes met and Lup smiled before reaching up to kiss Barry.

“Ugh, get off my sister, Barold!” Taako’s voice complained from the doorway. “If you’re going to do that, at least take it to your room! Gross!”

“Hey, I don’t judge you and Magnus! At least we’ve admitted everything,” Lup laughed, sticking her tongue out.

Taako huffed and walked away, flipping Lup off as he left. Lup and Barry laughed harder before returning to each other.

“Maybe we should take this to the other room,” Barry smiled.

“Or, we could see if we can get back at Merle for that time we walked in on him and the honeysuckle.”

Barry laughed.

“Gods, I love you, Lup.”

“I love you too,” she smiled, reaching up and pulling him down for another kiss.

~

_Memories are strange things._

_Sometimes, memories are formed from vivid experiences. From traumas and pain or pleasure and joy._

_Sometimes, memories are formed in words. Some are formed in silence._

_Sometimes, you don’t even know the memory could have formed. Nothing lost, nothing gained._

_Sometimes, memories are formed with a song whispered from a distance._

~

She hovered over her body. The body was mangled, having hit several branches on the way down to the ground.

That was a stupid way to die.

She sighed and floated over to Barry. He hovered over his own body.

“Well … I guess there’s a reason no one has said anything about the south,” Barry sighed. “I can’t believe our bodies fell that far.”

“Yeah …” Lup sighed. “I guess let’s head back to the ship? I doubt we’re going to find the Light down here.”

“Yeah …”

They floated towards the ship in companionable silence. Barry looked over at Lup, marvelling in how beautiful even her lich form was. There was an odd ethereal beauty about her, even more than usual. He supposed it was because he was looking at her very soul now.

Lup seemed to feel the smile that Barry tried to form in his spectral body. She turned to look at him and Barry could have sworn she glowed.

“The only thing that’s going to suck is that we don’t have physical bodies for the rest of the year,” she laughed.

Barry reached out a spectral hand. Lup looked down for a moment.

They hadn’t tried this. They hadn’t tried to touch yet, having just now experienced being solely spectral forms together. They weren’t even sure if they could.

Lup reach a hand out to his.

Somehow, Barry felt just as alive as he always had, if not more. Their souls seemed to meld where they touched, a tingle reaching through both liches. Barry looked at Lup.

“Well … this won’t be as difficult after all, huh?”

“Yeah,” he heard her smile. “Barry, I’m so … happy. If you had asked me eighty-three years ago if … If this would have ever happened … If someone as wonderful as you were to love me, I - I wouldn’t believe it. I feel like I must have done something right …”

“Lup …” Barry whispered. “I think I’m the one who got lucky. Before the IPRE - before you - I was … I was aimless. Lup, I was so aimless that I studied up on every class! It’s why I’m not as powerful of a wizard!” Lup giggled at that. “I studied fighting, sorcery, bardic arts … I even trained in being a rogue but thieves’ cant was a mess … I just, I didn’t know who I was or who I wanted to be but now … Now I know. I want to be there for you, no matter which world we’re on. No matter which plane. Dead or alive … I … I don’t ever want to know a day without you.”

They embraced, their souls intertwining and weaving together. It was a new experience, a new sensation as they felt their very essence joining together. For a while, there was no way to know where Lup ended and Barry began. They were truly one, just feeling each other’s emotions, each other’s souls. Any fears they had once had melted away. They were together. They were there for each other. They would always be a part of one another. Never truly alone.

If anyone had looked towards the south, they would have seen the pair of red cloaked lights swirling around each other, combining, dancing … Two beings of pure love and arcana energizing each other. It was freeing, more than either of them had expected it to be. Suddenly, giving into the thrall of being a lich made sense. To have this much power, it was addicting.

But they were each other’s anchors and they were able to still keep each other grounded. Yes, they had this near-unlimited power, but it was so that they would be together. So that their found family could be together. Could be safe.

So that every planar system could be safe.

Looking into each other’s souls, feeling each other’s souls, Lup and Barry found themselves falling deeper in love with each other. They weren’t just seeing each other’s bodies. Each other’s physical forms. The shallow trappings of flesh.

They could see each other as they truly were.

They would eventually make their way back to the Starblaster but for now, they could be content to just be alone together.


	13. Cycle 99 and Year 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew is in Faerun. Lup and Barry plan for the future but quickly learn that their plans are for naught. Kravitz begins his side quest. An Eight Bird rises.

Name:  Lup LASTNAME

Age:80

Gender:Female

Race:Elf (Sun)

SpecializationEvocation, Cooking bomb-ass food

 

 Lup looked down at her relic.

An empty feeling sat at the pit of her stomach.

If this didn’t work, then it would be more running. It would lead to them cutting off the next world from the rest of the planes.

If it did work, then this would be the world she raised her child in.

As she turned over the relic in her hands, she wondered if she had done the right thing.

~

They sat on the hill, watching the city below.

Barry held Lup close as the sun set. He watched as her copper skin nearly glowed in the pink light.

She was beautiful.

She was nervous.

He gently rested his head on her shoulder.

“Maybe down there?” He started. “Magnus could build it. There would be plenty of room.”

Lup hummed in response.

“Are you doing ok?” Barry asked.

“Yeah just … I got this feeling… sorry, it's stupid…”

‘No, what's wrong?” Barry kissed into her hair.

“What if I was wrong?” Lup started. “What if … what if this all goes to hell?”

Barry paused.

He had been worried as well, admittedly, but he had tried not to say anything. Nothing had happened and the Hunger hadn't come.

But if something did go wrong …

“It … We've done the best we can and it's better than if the Hunger had devoured this plane too, right?”

“Yeah …”

“Besides, if things do go wrong well … we're a team. A crew. We can fix it, together.”

Lup stared out over the city. The sun had dipped below the horizon and the first stars were beginning to twinkle in the night sky.

She wanted to keep this moment. To hold it and cherish it forever.

She leaned back into Barry's embrace.

“Yeah … together …”

~

The day she started showing was the day that the relic wars began. She watched the news come in of the relics being used and the regret sank into her bones. This was it. This was where they were going to be forever.

Her child would be born into this world.

It took everything she had to not break down every night. It took everything she had to get out of bed in the morning. Barry had noticed but she tried to play it off as hormones. As stress. As anything other than regret.

When Armos had been transformed, Lup saw the flicker of fear tear across Taako’s face. She did this to her brother. She came up with the idea. She got him on board with this.

When monsters appeared, created by the Oculus, Lup would watch Davenport drink more brandy than normal, and she realized that this was her fault.

She had done this. Every town taken over by horrific storms, every city turned to glass. It was all because of her.

When they had been there for twenty months and Lup was close to her first estimated due date, Cordelia was turned to black glass. She thought her heart was going to rip out as she read the reports.

So much death.

All her fault.

She told the crew. She told her _family_.

She sat with Taako that night and he tried to cheer her up but all she could think of was what she had done to this world.

What she had done to the world her child was going to be born in.

That night, Barry held her close, gently kissing the top of her head and the tips of her ears. He whispered words of love, of reassurance …

But they fell on deaf ears.

Lup knew what she had to do.

That night, she packed a bag, wrote a note, and sealed it with with a kiss.

_Back soon_

She stole away into the night, careful not to run to fast or too hard. She had to get to the gauntlet. She had to stop this.

At an inn, she paid the innkeeper to keep her identity secret. No one could know. She didn’t want anyone following her this time. Sure, even if she logically knew that it would be better if she had talked to anyone, her instincts told her to run. To try and solve this herself.

At night, she sang to try and calm herself down. She hoped that none of the stress made its way to her child.

~

Barry and Taako had wandered through the woods near the latest glassing. No sign of Lup. No sign of any arcane energy anymore.

A dead end.

Taako helped Barry to the Starblaster. It had been two months. Two months of tireless searching with no Lup in sight.

“She … she could have had our child and … Something could have happened,” Barry whispered. “Or … She could have lost them again … And if she did … This is the last one, Taako. This is the last time and if she lost them …”

“If she’s dead, then she’ll be a lich and we can go from there,” Taako tried to offer, his heart pounding in his chest.

“No … she would have found us … And there have been more glassings … She … She’s still out there Taako. I’ve gotta find her.”

Taako watched as Barry pulled away, trudging forward. He let him go ahead.

His last words had been to try and cheer her up. To do a stupid little dance for her.

Sure, she had laughed but he should have seen it. He should have noticed that she was hurting this badly.

He wasn’t even sure what could have happened to her. If she was dead, then she would be back, as Barry said.

And their child would be …

Taako followed Barry down the path and cast detect magic again. They had to be missing something.

~

Lucretia watched, heartbroken. Everyone had been affected by the relics. Everyone had been affected by their choice.

And worst of all, her friend had taken it upon herself to fix it. Alone.

While she was about to have a child.

She sat, editing the journals in her room. She wasn’t sure how the idea entered her mind, but she needed a plan B. She remembered the cycle where Lup had been lost early in it. If this was truly the last cycle, then Lucretia couldn’t lose her friends again.

But in order to fix it, she would have to.

She would look at Fischer every so often. Magnus would have to forget about them. He would have to forget about his family.

They would all forget about her, and their century long journey … and the relics …

She looked at the redactions. She wanted to hold off on redacting Lup. She wanted to hold off on erasing her from everyone’s minds.

She had to still be out there.

~

Lup felt the intense cramps first, part-way through her journey into the cave. She had to keep going. She couldn’t be giving birth now. She had to hide the gauntlet.

She had sat on that hill, watching the city she had fantasized about living in turn to a disc of black glass.

Never again. This was it. She needed to stop it while she could.

And now, in Wave Echo Cave, she felt closer than ever before to fixing everything.

“So, here we are,” Cyrus’ voice grumbled. “Just like I promised.”

Lup looked up at the vault and took a deep breath. She could do this. She could hide away the gauntlet and then she could get home and have her child. Everything would be fine.

The sting of a dagger, slashing across her back, shook her out of her thoughts as Cyrus grabbed the relic.

Everything after was instinct. She didn’t think. She just acted, knocking him into the vault and closing the door behind him.

She staggered over to a wall and looked down her at her hands.

Veins of black started to spread across her copper skin.

Silverpoint.

She had been poisoned.

And she still needed to give birth.

She grabbed her pack and dug, frantically. She couldn’t wait for her child to come out on their own.

And this was the last cycle. If her child had to be raised by a lich, so be it, but her child was not going to die. Not after all these years of trying to break out of each cycle.

She found a clean knife and closed her eyes.

She carefully placed the knife to her abdomen and took a deep breath.

When the deed was done, she held her newborn son, cleaning him off weakly as the poison spread throughout her body. She smiled, knowing that at least he was safe.

At least they would find him and they would find her and her son would have a very unconventional upbringing.

She wrote a note in her blood after casting her sending spell and set her son on her lap, singing to him in her final moments as a corporeal being. She looked down as his crying paused, seeing him squint in the darkness.

She smiled sadly. She was too weak now. Too weak to think. Too weak to say much.

But she needed to comfort her son. He needed to know ...

“Love you, Angus …”

She took a final breath as the poison ran its course.

And then she was out.

She felt a chill in the room as soon as she left her body, but she couldn’t tell what was causing it. There wasn’t a breeze in this part of the cave, so there was no reason for there to be a breeze now. She looked down at her son who continued to cry.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

Suddenly she felt a pull. She looked over at her umbra staff and remembered.

It swallowed magical energy.

That was all that she was now.

“Oh fuck-”

She grabbed at her body, at the wall, at anything, but her hands simply passed through. She couldn’t escape the pull of her staff.

The last thing she saw, the last thing she heard, was the sound of her son crying and the sound of the fabric of reality ripping open,

Then she was swamped in black curtains.

~

Kravitz had just received a bounty. A nameless lich in Wave Echo cave with a very alarming number of deaths. He sighed and summoned his scythe, swinging it and opening a portal into the cave.

When he arrived, he gasped at the horrific scene that lay before him.

An elven woman, sat slumped over and covered in blood, her skin blackened with silverpoint. Blood pooled underneath her and a bloody knife lay not too far away from her body. Next to her was an umbrella. Her robes were crimson and were wrapped around something. He knelt in for a closer look and gasped at what he saw.

A half-elf infant, screaming on her lap.

“What the fuck …” Kravitz whispered before kneeling down. He looked the infant over.

_Fifty deaths._

It had to be a mistake. This was an infant. There was no way he could have so many deaths.

Perhaps it was something to do with whatever magic this lich he was hunting possessed. He looked the elven woman over, still feeling the faint presence of the lich. He looked around. He couldn’t find the lich anywhere.

It must had vanished already, having sensed that he was coming. He’d never quite felt this energy signature from a lich before, but the staggering amount of deaths that he had seen from the nameless bounty and the gruesome scene in front of him had been enough to lead him to a conclusion.

The lich had killed this elven woman. It must have been about to harm the child somehow. Perhaps to feed on the infant’s suffering.

Even worse, he couldn’t find the elven woman’s soul. He would have to check on the Astral Plane later. He would have to make sure she wasn’t trapped -

The baby screamed and Kravitz looked down at him.

Written, in blood, was a note.

_His name is Angus._

“Angus,” Kravitz whispered. “Well, I will get you to safety. I … I can’t promise the same for your mother, but I … I know someone.”

He had a human friend, a retired detective in Neverwinter. The man had often helped Kravitz with difficult to find bounties. He had never married, but in his later years had grown lonely.

Kravitz summoned another portal and picked up the child, looking at the dead elven woman one more time.

“I promise, he will be safe and I will find the lich who did this to you.”

He stepped through the portal, Angus in hand, and left the body, and the umbrella, alone in the darkness.

~

Barry snapped awake.

He’d had a horrific nightmare. Lup, dead. Their son, in danger. He had a thought that continued through his mind as he staggered out to the deck.

_Wave Echo Cave … I’m dying … Silverpoint … Save our son …_

He couldn’t get the nightmare out of his mind as the words echoed. He looked at the map he had rolled out on the table.

He wasn’t even sure where Wave Echo Cave was in comparison to the last glassing, but the name wouldn’t leave his mind.

He stared down at the map, unaware that Taako had joined him.

~

Lucretia held the journals close.

That was a sending spell. Lup had been killed.

She had been killed and her son was … Who knew what happened to him. Silverpoint poison was always fatal. It may have spread to the child, to her son. There was no way …

She looked down at the journals one more time and did one final redaction.

Her hand hovered over a song she had written down.

A song Lup had often sung to her unborn child.

Lucretia stared at the journal.

She couldn’t erase that song.

Even if Lup’s child did survive, it wouldn’t affect them if they remembered. It couldn’t. Mothers sang to their children all the time. If they never knew her anyway ...

She chose to leave the memory of the song intact. In a way, it was the one part of Lup she had left.

She hoped Lup’s son survived.

She looked at her journals again. Everything about the mission, everything about the relics was gone. Taako would be ok. He would survive on this planet, at least long enough for Lucretia to fix this. It would only be temporary. It would only be long enough for her to get the relics back together. To get the light.

Barry … She wasn’t sure what she would do for him. She didn’t want to erase Lup or his son from him but … He was a lich. If he started to lose composure because of the death of his anchor …

She looked over Davenport’s pages. His was going to be the hardest. She wasn’t even sure how he would react. She hoped she could still let him keep who he was.

It’s only temporary.

Magnus .. Merle … They would be easier to place. They would have an easier time.

She looked out the door, hoping that she would see Lup, incorporeal but present, coming in to stop her. Coming in to tell her where to find her son. She waited.

Nothing.

She began to give Fisher her journals.


	14. Year 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angus gets his first case. A misunderstanding occurs. Barry dies twice

_In studying the process of becoming a lich, I have found that it is nearly impossible to complete the process without a stable anchor. The most common anchor seems to be emotions. Memories. Things that can be either positive or negative. Often times, negative memories tended to taint the subjects highlighted in the journals I found, which led to instability and ultimately destruction of the soul._

_Perhaps, if a perfect day can be planned, then a stable lich can be created._

_Humans seem to not fare too well when undergoing the process. They are not intrinsically magical, their souls being made of something different. Something that can’t be easily pulled out in the way that would be needed for creating a lich._

_In order for this to work, it will have to be me._

_Ļ̵͚̱̬͔͍͉̮̲̮̖̰̾̎ͧ͊ͯͮ̑́ͤͥ̐̋͜͝ư̛̜̭̖̥͉͔͈͋͛̂̉̏̃̈́̔̽̿ͫ͆̈́̍ͅp̵̸̢͍̲͉͓̺̯̭̳̤̺̼̰͔̈́ͤ̆̿̽̓̄ͣ͝ͅ,ͮ̾́͋̎̔̾ͮ͑҉̰̠̥͍͕̻̖̼̤̘̦̖ ̸̧̫̝͓̠͓̹͎̐̓̆ͬ͗̔̅ͩ̇̒ͬ̂͆͛͒̉͑͢ͅS̷̡̟̖̞͎͔͕͓͓̺͖̣̤͚̘͓̟̜͆̍ͮ͐̈ͥ͑͆͑̓͂ͤ̈́͂̍̎̎͟t̶ͤ͆̂͑͌̆̉ͪ̃̔̋̑̅͆͌ͨ҉̷̩̦͖͔̼̖͠uͫ͗̂͛͌ͮ̅̆͛ͭ̐͢͏̞̥̥̱͓̯̦͍d̝̱̲̦̠̻͈̞͈͎͈̫̪̭̆ͦͦ͗̑ͤ́͞ǐ̟̟̟̬̣͑̈̓̐̓͊̄ͯ̿͌̚͘͘͢͞e̿̈̓͌̀̐̆̀ͮͣ̎̈́̾̀̚̕͘͏͔̰͈͕̣̬s̮̩͕̫̝ͯ̅̀͆ͭ̉͋̈́̎͂ͦͥ̂͢ ̷̳̰̝̘̲̤̣̱͙̠̰̖͕̯̺̪̜͍̘̿̎ͣ͗ͮ̋͠ǫ̸̛͓̭̙͙͓̲̱̬̺̯͚͍͍͎̩ͯ̂͋ͥ͆ͥ͊̽͒ͩ̒͆ͨ̄nͯ̌ͨ̓̉ͯ̕҉͏̣̠̗̬̼̺̰͚̖͕͍̘̙ ̸̼̟͈͖̻͇͍͈͎͕̣̮̳̳̯̳̠͋ͧ͆ͭ͗ͭ͑̇͢B̷ͩ̔̓ͪ̉͑̐ͥ͒͏͖̼͎̦̖̖̖̗͞e̛̳̘͙̱̝̤̽̃̃̄̇̓ͩ͊ͫ̆͊̈ͣ̌ͫ͝ͅc̵̴̨̨͇͕͓̖͚̼͕͕̼͈̩̺͎̠̻ͬͩ̂̎͋̈́̈́ͅô̵̸̂̓̎͋̽ͦ̓ͩ̇͑̒ͮ̋ͮ̚͝͏͏̤̯̲̝͇ṃ̻̼͇͎̬̱͍̺̘̦̲͍̪̠ͦ͌̓ͯ̏̑̽͆ͭ͜͝ͅi̴̹͉̟̞̠̥̞̱̥̗͍ͤͭ̐̿ͦ̊̅̌ͩͪ̉̋ͥ̊͂̿ͦͭ͞ṅ̩̥͚͕̥̐̓̏͠g͐̍ͦ̄͑ͬ͒҉͍̦͉̠̩̜͚̮̥͍̘͔͕̝̹̱̕͘͢ ̝͓͖͈̗̞̹̖̘̻͙̰͉̣̳̞̏ͪͨ͌͑̈̉͌ͫ̚͡͞a̧̢͕̤͇̬͓͚̠̱͙͈̺̻͓̖ͣ͂͋ͧͅ ̸̨̛͕̤̻̱̤͚̭͚̠͉̤ͬ͌͐ͤ̅ͤ͘̕Ļ̶̡̫̜̠̥̙͉͍̖͙̏͑̿̽̽̆ͪ̒ͨͥ͡i̡̨̤̜̠̓ͣ͒ͨ̇ͮͨ̔̍̍̑̊̆̿ͩ͐̇̾ͅç̵̢͈̻͈̝̬̙̼͕͉͉̟̞ͪͫͭͥ̇͒̆h̵̵̥̮̰͖̓ͨ̆̏͐̓_

 

Angus McDonald was a normal little boy. That was what his grandfather told him.

He was just like all the other half-elf children.

So what if he could be engrossed in books way above his reading level? So what if he remembers a song in a dialect not even spoken on Faerun?

So what if he has nightmares that are filled with static almost every night?

He was a normal little boy, just like all the other little boys.

Except, he realized, other little boys tended to have mothers.

He didn't know how to ask his grandfather. He never seemed to have anyone in his life, outside of Angus and the staff in the mansion. It was curious.

He had to find out.

He waited until dinner to ask his grandfather one evening. He sat next to the older human, soup bowl in front of him. He adjusted the glasses that perched on the tip of his nose and then looked up at the man.

“Grandfather? Why don't I have a mother?”

The man stared down at his soup for a moment.

In all of his years of being a detective, in all of his years of knowing Kravitz, nothing was as peculiar as the circumstances surrounding his young ward.

A half elf infant brought to him in the night by the Raven Queen’s emissary. The description of the horrific crime scene. He was too old to do detective work now, but this case … no one had even reported a missing Sun Elf anywhere. Surely her husband would be looking for her and well, unless he had also fallen victim to the lich.

He sighed.

“Well, kiddo … I …” he took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “My friend found you in Wave Echo Cave. Your mother …”

“Did … Did she leave me?” He asked.

“No … No, kiddo … She loved you very much. She wanted someone to keep you safe.”

“Oh …”

“If I were younger, then her case would be right in my wheelhouse but …”

“Oh! So she was murdered!” Angus gasped.

Mr. McDonald blinked.

“I always forget how bright of a child you are.”

“I just wondered about her because a lot of the other kids have moms. I just wasn’t sure why I didn’t have one … One kid said she probably just left because I’m a mongrel …”

Mr. McDonald’s fist clenched.

“What?”

“Yeah … The elf kids have been kinda mean …” Angus started. “But it’s ok! They’re just jealous cause I’m smart, right?”

His grandfather smiled, sadly. This wasn’t the time to tell him. He couldn’t break this child’s spirit right now. Not when he had just learned ...

“Yeah, kiddo … Yeah.”

They sat in silence for a while before Angus piped up again.

“So … Mom was killed ...”

“... Yeah …”

“She didn’t leave me?”

“No,” his grandfather answered, sadly. “My friend said she must have died protecting you …”

“Grandfather?”

“Yeah?”

“I know you aren’t a detective anymore but … Maybe I could take this case? When I’m bigger?”

His grandfather ruffled his hair and smiled.

“Sure, kiddo. When you’re older. I’ll even put in a good word with the Neverwinter Militia for you.”

“Really?” Angus grinned, his golden eyes shining brightly.

“Yeah,” he smiled. “But you’ll have to do some practice cases first. Perhaps locate my old slippers? They were last seen near the couch and I have a list of suspects, but they’ll need to be questioned. My first suspect is Snuffles.”

Agnus looked over at the sleeping dog on the floor and grinned.

His first case …

~

Barry sighed.

Yet another death. Yet another moment of a century’s worth of memories coming to him at once.

Yet another failure to find Lup.

He was in Neverwinter now, floating through the streets, incorporeal and unnoticeable. He needed to get back to his cave. He needed to make sure he could get to safety before the emissary arrived again.

He had been relentlessly pursued, this reaper constantly on the attack with a fire in his eyes. He knew it was a risk, being out like this, but he couldn’t understand why the reaper was so aggressive.

Then he saw the little half-elf boy.

He could tell he had to be young, not even five years old yet. Something else struck Barry as he watched the child. He seemed so familiar, but it was impossible.

If Lup was still here, if their child had survived, they would have been this child’s age. The child paused for a moment and seemed to look right at Barry before turning back to continue his walk.

Barry wasn’t sure why, but he felt a pull to follow the boy. Perhaps it was his own pain at losing his child. Perhaps it was wishful thinking.

The chill caught up with him. He had to leave. He had been found.

“You!” The reaper growled. “I knew it had to be you! You already took his mother! You cannot have this child too!”

Barry froze.

The child lost his mother. His mother who had apparently been killed by a lich.

He felt sick.

Was it her? Did Lup lose her composure? Did she lose their child and then lose herself?

“I … I don’t know what you’re talking about …” Barry stammered.

If it was Lup that he was after, he had to find her soon. He had to find her and try to help her get anchored again.

“You’re coming with me to speak for your crimes,” the reaper snarled, summoning his scythe. “I should unmake you right now, but my Queen has her rules.”

Barry didn’t think. He just acted.

He banished the reaper to the astral plane and then fled.

He had to find Lup before someone else did.

~

All of Taako’s dreams were filled with static.

No matter what he did the night before, he would have dreams that would just dissolve into static. He started to wonder if he should try meditating again. He hadn’t meditated in a long time. When he tried to think of the last time he did it, his mind would dissolve again.

This particular night, he had started to dream about cooking his aunt’s turkey recipe. He could smell the delicious aroma of it as he pulled it out of the oven. He could feel the happiness in his heart as he set it down on the table. He looked up across the table -

And the room dissolved into static.

Taako awoke in a cold sweat and looked over at the cot across from him. Sazed was there.

No static.

He sat up and looked out the window of their wagon.

He’d wanted to try and trust Sazed, he really did, but when he had asked to be made a partner, to have his name on the marquee with him, something about it felt wrong. To have someone else’s name up there with his.

No, not just someone else’s. Just … Sizzle it up with Taako and Sazed didn’t roll off the tongue. It didn’t feel right to him.

But, who else could even join him? Sazed was the only person he had gotten close to in his entire life, and even then …

He couldn’t do it. He’d already told him no anyway and if he suddenly said yes, it wouldn’t be genuine.

He sighed and stretched back.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that this, all of this, was wrong. He wished he knew why he felt this way but each time he tried to think about it too hard, his mind hurt and his heart ached.

He stared up at the ceiling of the wagon and sighed. He should be used to this, to being on the road. To being alone, even when he was with people.

Why had it been so hard?

He closed his eyes, hoping to drift off to sleep.

Tomorrow would be another show. Another stop on the way to Neverwinter.

~

Angus had seen the flyer and instantly wanted to go.

Sizzle it Up with Taako was going to be in Glamour Springs! It would be quiet enough of a place that he wouldn’t get too overwhelmed.

Not only that, but the image on the flyer showed a Sun Elf.

A Sun Elf that looked a lot like he did.

Seeing this had made Angus wonder if he was related to Taako somehow. Perhaps Taako had known his mother, even if they were just distant cousins.

Perhaps Taako would know why someone had killed his mother.

Angus had made sure to do all of his chores and all of his studies in order to convince his grandfather to let him go to the show. He wanted so badly to see Taako. To talk to him and find out more about him.

The day before the trip to Glamour Springs, there was a rainstorm. Angus was still a little boy and as a little boy, he wanted to play in the mud and rain.

The morning they were to leave, Angus was too sick to go. His grandfather stayed home with him.

If he had any disappointment in never seeing another Sizzle it Up with Taako flyer, the young boy didn’t show it.

~

Barry hovered over his body.

This had to be one of the worst ways he had died now. He looked over at the wagon as it raced away.

Taako wouldn’t have poisoned forty people. He wouldn’t have done this on purpose. In all of the years of cooking for the IPRE, Taako had been careful. Sure, he could get creative with his transmutations, but he never confused food items for poisons.

This couldn’t have been him. There was no way Taako would do this.

He thought back to the reaper. To what he had said.

He had been hunting a lich who had killed someone. Who had killed the mother of a half elf boy.

If Lup had lost control after the memory wipe, who was to say that Taako wouldn’t have completely changed as well.

And Taako still didn’t remember. Looking back on what he had seen during the show, he could tell that Taako’s routine was missing his sister. He often acted as if there was supposed to be someone else there. A second chef.

His sister.

Barry disappeared back to his hideout, thankful that he had remembered to leave some blood in the revivification pod this time.

He needed to find Lup. He needed to get her under control.

He needed to get his family back.

~

Lucretia had been in Neverwinter when she saw the boy.

The boy who made her heart clench in her chest.

There was no way that this was Lup’s child, but he looked so much like both Lup and Barry …

She wanted to run to him, to ask him if he knew where his mother was. It didn’t make sense. Lup should be here. She should be around if this was her son.

But she wasn’t.

Perhaps it was just wishful thinking. Just the guilt at doing this to her friends, to her family, eating at her.

Taako had dropped off the map after one of his shows. Shortly after, she heard reports of forty deaths.

It couldn’t have been Taako.

He couldn’t have done this.

She felt a tug on her sleeve and looked down. Davenport stood next to her, holding a few music scrolls.

“Davenport,” he smiled.

Lucretia smiled, sadly. She ruffled his hair and took his free hand.

“I see you found some scrolls you wanted?”

Davenport nodded.

“Alright. Did they give you any trouble?”

He shook his head and Lucretia looked back to where the boy had been.

He was gone.

Just another ghost that was there to haunt her. To remind her of her mistakes.

She walked with Davenport back to their home. She needed to find the relics. She needed to get everyone back together.

She needed to fix this.

~

Taako sat, huddled underneath an oak tree. The wagon … everything was gone.

Sazed hadn’t even left a note. Hadn’t even told him where he was going.

He supposed he deserved that. How could he have been so stupid? He went over the recipe again.

_Chicken … Thirty cloves of garlic … Rosemary … Thyme … Elderberries …_

He had never, ever transmuted food into poison but seeing all of those people. How could he have done this? He should never have tried to mix magic and cooking.

What would his aunt say?

His brain hurt as he thought of her. Thought of the recipes he had learned from her. Thought of the birthday turkey.

He would have to keep running. He would have to change his identity or something, at least until this blew over.

Then what? Who would ever hire him as a chef again? Once word about Glamour Springs got out, then it would be over for him.

He wondered if he should just turn himself in. Get it over with.

No. He couldn’t do that. He wouldn’t survive prison and there was no way …

_Chicken … Thirty garlic cloves …_

He looked down at his wand. He couldn’t remember when he had gotten it. Perhaps when he had turned seventy? He couldn’t remember now.

_Rosemary_

He tried to think of something happier. His time with his aunt. His time with …

_Static_

He clutched his head. Maybe it was the swiss cheese brain that had led to him transmuting the elderberries into nightshade. Maybe he could get off with an insanity plea.

No. No one would believe him. It would be easier to believe he had killed all of those people on purpose.

He was a fuck up. He was the biggest fuck up.

_Thyme …_

He couldn’t calm his mind down. He couldn’t stop thinking about what he had done. He looked at the wand again. He needed to think of literally anything other than …

_Elderberries …_

Taako wailed and curled in on himself, sobbing for countless minutes before he was interrupted by a crack of thunder above him. He curled in on himself even tighter.

He had been alone for most of his childhood. He had been through rough patches before and survived.

It didn’t matter now that no one would trust him. It was just like the old days.

It was Taako versus the world.

Just as it had always been.


	15. Years 6 through 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angus celebrates a few birthdays. Barry follows the coin. Kravitz looks for clues.

_Half elf children will need assistance in schooling on Faerun. Many parents will opt to homeschool the children when the bullying gets to be too much. It is difficult to break down centuries of tension between the elf and human races, and even though there have been many strides made, there will still be issues._

_Some half-elf children may tape their ears or go through surgery to make their ears longer in order to fit in. This is a sadly normal occurrence in many half-elf children and parents will need to be vigilant regarding their child’s mental well-being._

_-Raising a Half Elf in Modern Faerun_

 

“You might run into a young, half-elf boy who will make your heart hurt. I don’t know who he is either, but something about him will remind you of home. Will remind you of … Just, if you see him, learn more. He may know where she is. He may know what she did.”

Barry stared down at the coin. He sighed and walked through the streets of Neverwinter. The coin hadn’t lied to him so far and had known enough about him that he knew he could trust it. He just didn’t know why he had left himself a message. Why he couldn’t remember.

“Hey! Give that back!” He heard a voice cry out. “That’s my grandpa’s!”

Barry tore off after the voice and veered into an alley where he saw a pair of elven boys playing keep away with a young half-elf boy.

This was him.

“Hey!” Barry snapped.

One of the boys dropped the magnifying glass they had been taunting him with, the half-elf barely catching it, while the other bolted down the alley.

As Barry came over, the last elf ran, leaving the little half-elf sniffling on the pavement.

“Hey kiddo, are you ok?” he asked.

The little boy looked up and nodded.

“Yeah … They just wouldn’t put down my grandpa’s magnifying glass and … I need to take good care of it if I’m going to be a detective like he was.”

Barry smiled, trying to push down the thrumming pain in his heart.

“A detective, huh?” Barry smiled. “You’ve gotta be awfully smart to be a detective.”

“Oh, I am, sir!” the little boy chirped. “I’m ahead in my class - which is probably why the elf boys don’t like me … That and my ears …”

Barry watched as the little boy looked away, his large, tanned ears barely drooping.

He didn’t know that this was an issue. That elves discriminated against half-elves. That there was such a divide … He had never had negative thoughts about elves before and in fact, he felt a sense of fondness about -

_Static._

“I guess I need to get back home though,” the little boy sighed. “I need to get back before dinner. I guess the case of the missing money clip will have to wait.”

Barry felt a pull, suddenly. He couldn’t explain it, but as he helped the boy up, he said, “Hey, why don’t I walk you home? That way those boys don’t mess with you again.”

“Oh, I don’t want to bother anyone, sir.”

“It’s ok. I wasn’t doing anything,” he chuckled.

“Oh! Ok!” The little boy perked up. “Thank you so much sir! By the way, my name is Angus! Angus McDonald! I forgot that it’s always important to introduce yourself when you meet new people. My grandpa told me that!”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Angus. I’m Barry Bluejeans,” Barry grinned as they walked down the road.

“Barry Bluejeans? That’s a funny name!” Angus giggled.

“Haha yeah. I guess my parents weren’t that imaginative?”

“It’s ok! I don’t know if my parents were or not. I never met either of them.”

Barry felt that pain again.

“Oh …”

“It’s ok! My mom was murdered and when I get older, I’m going to solve the case!”

Something about those words set off alarm bells in his mind, but when he tried to make sense of it, all he got was static.

“Aren’t you a little young to be thinking about solving murders?”

“Oh, it won’t be for a while! I’m only five - well, six in five days!”

Pain in his chest. _Why?_

“Well, happy birthday in five days!”

“Thank you, sir!”

Angus didn’t know why, but something about this man felt safe. He skipped alongside the man until they got to Angus’ home.

“Thank you for walking me home sir! I hope I see you again!”

“No problem!” Barry smiled.

The little boy walked into the house.

Barry walked down the road, stepped off the curb to cross -

And was struck by a wagon, leaving his body.

“ _Idiot!_ ” Barry chastised himself as he hovered over his body. “You can’t keep doing this!”

Then the thought hit him, along with the memories.

This little boy. His birthday was in five days.

In five days, it was the anniversary of when he had been separated from everyone. From when his lonely search began.

It was impossible. It had to be wishful thinking.

This Angus wasn’t his and Lup’s Angus. Their wished for son.

Lup would have been here if he was.

He would not be named Angus McDonald. He would have been Angus Bluejeans - since the last name had grown on Barry.

He looked down at his body. He needed the coin. He needed to get back to his hideout before the reaper arrived again.

He quickly grabbed the coin and then paused.

He also needed to get the boy a gift.

Even if this child wasn’t his son, he felt like he needed to do this for him.

Especially if Lup had lost control and killed his mother.

~

Robbie was a bit of a burnout. He had not graduated with any honors from high school and had nearly been expelled for his potions.

He was currently in the Fantasy Borders Books when he felt an odd tingling. He hadn’t taken any of his potions, so he wasn’t sure what was going on.

He didn’t remember walking out of the bookstore having purchased three Caleb Cleveland books. He didn’t remember writing a card, signing it with a name he didn’t know.

He didn’t remember placing the books and the card on the doorstep of the McDonald Mansion.

But somehow, the halfling had done all of this and was currently standing, confused, on the street outside of the McDonald Mansion.

Bewildered, he turned and left, not noticing the spectral form that hovered nearby, waiting to see if the door would open. Waiting to see if this boy would get his birthday present.

Barry felt the chill.

He sighed and left. He couldn’t get reaped. Not yet. He still needed to search.

~

Darkness.

The darkness was crushing.

Numbing.

It was easy to lose herself.

She couldn’t though.

She was Lup. She was Lup and she had a brother.

She had a brother and a boyfriend.

She had a brother and a boyfriend and a family.

She had a son.

With that thought, she could see where she was. She could see for more than just a flash.

She was still in the cave.

She was still in the umbra staff. Still next to her body.

If she’d been able to, she would have recoiled at the sight.

Then, as quickly as she had vision, it was gone.

She was back in the black curtains.

In the nothingness.

~

Angus sat on his chair, watching his grandfather and the staff mill about.

He had only overheard what went on in birthday parties from some of the boys out and about and figured that that was something that was a human tradition. Or an elven tradition.

Not something to be enjoyed by half-elves with no friends.

It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy celebrating his birthday with his grandfather and the staff. He just sometimes wished that there were others that were his age about.

That there was more to do than open presents, eat food, and then listen to the adults talk.

On his seventh birthday, his grandfather had even invited over some old friends from the militia. Friends who fawned over Angus and talked about how smart he was. How advanced this little half-elf boy was.

And then they left him alone to talk with his grandfather.

It was no matter. In about fifteen minutes, he would be getting his yearly gift.He had noticed the pattern after his seventh birthday. Just before noon, a knock would sound at the door and then a parcel would be delivered with the latest Caleb Cleveland novel and a note.

And sure, he was excited to get the gift, but the giver was giving him something even better than a book.

He was being given more clues that could help him solve his biggest mystery.

He watched as his grandfather spun another tale about his days in the militia, the details being fuzzier than they had been. He had been left alone with his presents, more toys and things that most little boys might like but that didn’t interest Angus at all. No, only his grandafather knew that Angus needed to read. Needed to keep his mind active.

But his grandfather hadn’t been able to leave the house in months.

Angus didn’t want to admit it, but his grandfather was getting older.

And when his grandfather finally passed … he didn’t know where he would go. Perhaps, if he could be accepted by the militia, he could leave and let his grandfather rest. It had to be hard, looking after a half-elf boy all the time.

He didn’t like putting that stress on him.

The chime of the clock made Angus’ ears perk up.

The yearly package was almost here.

He grinned and ran to the door, unseen by his “party” guests.

~

Kravitz waited for the little boy, his eyes scanning for any sign of the lich.

The lich had shown up, like clockwork, at the same time every year, but he had always been too quick to get away. The energy signature was unmistakable. It was so similar to the one that had been there when Kravitz had found the child in the first place. Not exact, but similar.

This had to mean that there was more than one lich that was involved in this case. He had looked through his bounty list. There were several liches, but two stood out. Two liches with high death counts. Two liches whose high death counts seemed almost improbable.

And he couldn’t find any record of them actually practicing any necromancy recently, and in fact he couldn’t find any record of them from before the unceremonious end of the relic wars.

This was another case, of course, and he wasn’t in charge of finding out why the wars stopped, but he felt as if there was some connection.

He had, after all, found Angus on the last day of the wars. The day when it seemed all of Faerun, in fact all of Aber-Toril, had forgotten about the wars. Forgotten about the relics.

He continued to look at the bounties. There were others on the list, but they weren’t liches, as far as he could tell. At some point, he would need to collect them.

He looked up to see that the yearly package had been left on the doorstep of the McDonald mansion and cursed to himself.

He had missed the lich, once again.

He sighed and was about to swing his scythe to create a portal when he heard the door open. Kravitz watched as Angus stepped out and picked up the parcel, looking at it quizzically before looking around and disappearing back into his house.

Why was this lich doing this to this poor child? Was he planning something? Was he trying to get close to this child for some nefarious purpose?

He needed to check around the crime scene again. There had to be a clue.

He created a portal to Wave Echo Cave and stepped through. He still felt the same energy that he’d felt when he first found the child. Somehow, the lich’s energy was still affecting the area. He looked down at the elven woman’s corpse. Death had never much affected the reaper since he had joined the Raven Queen’s retinue, but something about this scene still churned his stomach. No one had come to claim her.

No one had even been looking for her. No reports of missing Sun Elves. No reports of husbands looking for a missing wife and child.

And that lich’s energy was still affecting the area. He scanned the energy. Yes, this was similar to the energy he got from the lich he had seen around the boy, but it was much weaker than he remembered. It was as if the energy couldn’t keep itself together. As if it was blocked by something.

He was about to reach for the source of the largest concentration of the energy when a raven feather fluttered to the ground. He sighed.

He had a job to do. The case of the Sun Elf could wait.

~

_Happy 6th birthday, kiddo. I hope that you have an amazing year! These books looked like something you might enjoy. I don’t think they should be too high of a reading level. I got you the first three books in the series._  
_-BB_

_Happy 7th birthday! Wow you are growing up fast! The author of Caleb Cleveland signed this book for you. I hope that you still enjoy reading. Good luck on your next case!_

_-BB_

_Happy 8th birthday and congratulations on being accepted into the Neverwinter Militia! Please be careful as you work with them. Try to wait at least a few years before you try to solve any murders. I am so proud of you._

_-BB_

_Happy 9th birthday. Congratulations on your first successful murder case! I was worried, but I’m so glad that you were able to solve it safely. I’m sure that your mother and father would be proud. I hope you are able to solve her case soon. This is the latest Caleb Cleveland book. I hope that you enjoy it! The author promised that this was his best mystery yet!_  
_-BB_

Angus looked at the latest card. The mystery kept getting more convoluted. He knew, of course, who this had to be. There had only been one person who had shared these initials. Only one person who had shared those initials and knew Angus. Knew when his birthday was.

And Angus had seen him, just before his sixth birthday, had felt hope that he was closer to solving the mystery of his birth.

But when he had last seen him, he had seen him dead on the street.

Now that he had a job with the Neverwinter Militia, he had access to records. He had access to everything.

And Barry Bluejeans … he didn’t exist.

~

She had tried to look around at the world around her a few more times, just hoping that she could see someone, anyone familiar.

Seeing her body, reduced to a skeleton had been … upsetting.

But she didn’t see her Angus. Someone ... or some  _thing_  must have taken him.

But why didn’t anyone take her?

She heard voices. Familiar voices that made her heart ache.

They were here. They were here at last and they were going to save her!

But something was wrong. They didn’t react when they saw her, save for Merle trying to grab the Umbra Staff which … no.

She wanted her brother.

She wanted the familiarity.

She extended her reach just enough to where she could look at Taako through her former body’s eyes.

The skull tilted up and locked eyes with Taako.

But there was no recognition.

Lup retreated. She couldn’t understand. Why didn’t Taako recognize that this was her? How long had it been?

What happened to her family?

What happened to her son?


	16. Year 10: Rockport Limited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angus takes a trip. Taako is conflicted. Lucretia offers a job.

_The ruins of Cordelia: No sign of L͟҉u̸̸̧̨p̨͘͢͟. She may have barely missed the gauntlet._   
_The hills outside of the remains of Armos: Nothing._   
_The Felicity Wilds: Unable to search yet. Yr. 1_   
_Neverwinter: Found a small half-elf. Mother was killed by a lich. L͟҉u̸̸̧̨p̨͘͢͟???_   
_Glamour Springs: Unsuccessful but found Taako. I Died._   
_Goldcliff: Hit by battlewagon. Unsuccessful._   
_Rockport: Unsuccessful._   
_Phandalin: Found Taako, Merle, and Magnus. Phoenix Fire Gauntlet was found. NoL͟҉u̸̸̧̨p̨͘͢͟._   
_Neverwinter: Nothing._   
_-Location notes_

Angus had been taping his ears since his ninth birthday.

He didn’t mind it. He really didn’t. It didn’t hinder his investigations at all and in fact it kind of helped. It was easier to ignore a small human boy in some of the areas he went into. A half-elf stood out more.

And his grandfather hadn’t noticed, so it was ok. He hadn’t noticed much. Not since his mind had started going.

Angus had been placed on a murder case in Rockport when he got the news.

His grandfather had died.

He had to hide all of the sadness as he received the news. He had to try and respond in code, in case any prying eyes were looking. In case anyone was listening.

His cover was to be that he was delivering silverware to his grandfather.

He had to keep up the story.

He was offered a trip into the Pleasure Room and at first was hesitant (he had a case, after all), until he had a realization.

Maybe, this could solve one of his mysteries.

“Sir, you said I could go anywhere?” he asked the bow-tie clad Jenkins.

“Of course. Anywhere that you desire.”

Angus pondered for a moment. He had a fantasy that his father had a library. It made sense. Angus liked books and he had to have gotten that from somewhere. Perhaps he could find his way to his father’s home through one of the greatest rooms his father could possibly possess!

“Hmm … I want to go to my dad’s library!”

“Alright,” Jenkins nodded, waving the port wand. “Just step through the portal and you will be there, but remember, you can’t take anything out with you.”

Angus nodded and stepped through into darkness.

He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the dim light. This wasn’t what he had expected of his father. He had often imagined that his father came from a high class human family - otherwise, why would a Sun Elf be interested in him?

Instead, he was in what appeared to be a cave. The entire room was bathed in a sickening green light and it took a moment for Angus to be able to see anything in there.

He looked around. A desk was towards the back of the room, covered in books and scattered papers. Behind the desk was a small chair and a board with a map of the entire continent. Parts of the map seemed to be impossible to look at, his eyes refusing to focus as he tried to make sense of it.

He walked up to the desk and looked at the papers. He couldn’t quite read the language they had been written on, but he found a small piece of paper on the top of the desk. Two words were scrawled on it with the faint imprint of a pair of lips below.

_“Back soon.”_

His mother. This had to be from his mother. He wished he could have taken this with him, a much needed clue, but he remembered Jenkins’ words and sighed.

He walked over to a trunk and saw a robe draped over it. He touched the red fabric and lifted it up

A pair of blue jeans.

He filed away all of the information for later. He would have a lot to ruminate on but he needed to finish this investigation.

He looked up for the source of the green light and saw a large, cylindrical tank, filled with a brackish, green liquid.

He made his way over, cautiously.

He didn’t want to be caught. He wasn’t sure if his father would be home soon - if this was really his room.

He stood in front of the tank and peered in before recoiling in horror.

Inside the tank was the form of a small human.

Not an infant or a fetus. An adult human, shrunken down and completely out of proportion. The hands were too large, the face and head was gigantic compared to the body. The creature’s hair was growing in patches on the top of its’ head and it seemed to be curled in on itself. The face looked familiar but not at the same time. It looked to be asleep, but Angus knew that whatever this was, it wasn’t alive.

Angus staggered back. His brain wouldn’t let him focus on the face for too long. He needed to get out of here. The whole room was making his head hurt now and the image of the floating … thing in the tank was forever burned into his mind.

This couldn’t be his father’s home.

This couldn’t be his father’s library.

Something had gone wrong. Perhaps it was because he didn’t know his father.

Perhaps the room just picked a random human.

He heard a noise and felt a chill in the air.

Angus bolted for the portal and tore through it, panting as he landed at Jenkins’ feet.

“Excuse my language, sir,” he started, “But … what the fuck?”

~

She had projected herself out enough to see the young boy that was talking to her brother. She could see the admiration in his eyes. She felt a pull to the child but brushed it off as wishful thinking.

This wasn’t her child. Barry … He would have known … He would have found their child and brought him to her.

When she had seen him die in Phandalin, seen him leave his corporeal form, she knew he would remember her. She had, paradoxically, felt a sense of relief wash over her. Barry would find the boys and tell them. Get them to let her out.

Get her back with her family.

They would try again. Even though she wanted to believe her child was still out there, she had almost given up hope. Seeing the child brought up the pain again. The pain she had felt when she realized that her own brother did not know she was there. Did not know she existed.

Something had to have happened with the Voidfish. At the time, she wondered if anyone remembered her. Davenport? Lucretia?

Barry?

Seeing Barry at the tavern, trying to calm down Gundren but not reacting to the umbra staff shattered her. She didn’t want to believe that any of this was real …

But it was. It was and she had been forgotten.

She was truly alone.

But Barry. He had died and that meant he would be back. He would find her.

He would help her fix this.

Then she saw Lucretia.

And she wondered … What happened while she was gone?

She watched the boy.

He was old enough, he could have been her son.

He looked so much like Barry.

But his ears. Through the veil of the fabric, he looked human.

Fully human.

This wasn’t him. As much as she wanted this child to be him, she knew it wasn’t him.

She was grateful for that as she watched Taako, Magnus, and Merle pick on this child. She didn’t know what would be worse, For them to be picking on this random child …

...Or for this child that they were picking on to be the one they had once been so excited to see?

~

Taako knew right away that the boy’s ears were taped, but that’s not why he was so cruel to the child.

He was cruel because the child’s face made his heart hurt and he didn’t know why.

Every time he tried to make sense of it, his brain would dissolve into static, just like in his dreams.

He hated it.

So he had to take it out on this boy.

At one point, however, the child’s face looked a little too familiar.

The child looked like Barry Bluejeans. Looked like the man who had been instrumental in getting Taako this misfit family and this cool secret job.

The man who had died in Phandalin.

Taako felt something pulling at his heart. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he had to be nicer to this child.

He’d lost his father, after all.

~

Angus knew something was up with these three. They weren’t who they said they were and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

He knew immediately when he saw Taako.

He had seen his flyers as a young child. He had heard of Glamour Springs when he got older.

Meeting Taako … he knew he couldn’t have been the one to kill all of those people. He was an aloof wizard, but he was hardly dangerous.

There was something else about Taako. A familiarity that he couldn’t place. Perhaps it was because he was a Sun Elf, like his mother had been. He wasn’t sure, but a part of him felt safe around Taako, even if he played keep-away with belongings.

Magnus and Merle were … interesting. He could tell that Magnus might soften up a little bit but Merle, he was more gruff than he had expected a cleric to be. He knew that the three of them had to be hiding something.

The bracers. There was something about the bracers they wore. He needed to know more.

He had a new mystery to solve.

~

Lup could sense it.

The Oculus.

It was here. It was right there and they were grabbing it.

What the hell was Lucretia up to?

She used some energy to project her awareness out enough to see. She watched as Taako picked up the Umbra Staff, using the handle to carefully scoop up the Oculus.

_Seriously, Koko?_ She thought. _You don’t even remember that you’re immune? What the hell happened to you?_

She then felt the Umbra staff seem to get a mind of its own again, much like when she herself had been pulled in.

She looked, through the fading light, to see what was drawing its attention.

Jenkins’ wand.

It would give her just enough energy. She pulled her awareness back into the darkness and waited.

~

Another mystery solved. Another job well done.

He waved off the three men he had met on the train and pocketed the silverware. He knew, of course, that Taako was lying, but he didn’t care.

He had a funeral to get to. He had to get home.

“Good job, Angus,” he heard a voice behind him say. A voice that was so familiar, it made his heart hurt.

He turned and saw a spectral figure, hovering behind him. The figure wore a bright red robe but had no discernable face. They were just a small ball of white light in a darkened hood of the robe.

“Who … are you the one who’s been watching me?” Angus asked. “Are you … Are you Barry?”

“I am, kiddo …”

“So … How? How are you …Are you a ghost?”

“Yeah,” he laughed, sadly.

“Do … Do you know my mother?” Angus asked, his eyes beaming with hope. Barry’s heart shattered.

He looks so much like ...

Little sparks of lightning traced off of Barry’s form, but he held his composure.

“I’m sorry … I don’t,” he started. “But … I may know who killed her … I’m looking for her as well. If … If it was her, then I ...Then I am so sorry. I should have been there. I should have been there to stop her but …”

“Oh …” Angus whispered. “Who was it?”

“Your mother … She was killed by a lich, right?” Barry whispered. “A lich like me … And I don’t think she meant to. I think it was an accident. I think she lost control and I need to find her …”

Angus looked down at his feet.

“So … I guess that’s one part of the mystery solved,” he sighed. “I … I was hoping that maybe she hadn’t really died. That … That even though I was found with her that it … That it wasn’t her. That she was still out there … Do you know if maybe my dad …?”

The question hung in the air for a moment as Barry nearly felt his heart rip apart.

If he didn’t know better …

“I’m sorry, kiddo …”

“It’s ok … I just hoped …Hmm ... Maybe Taako would know …”

Barry paused.

“Taako?”

“Yeah … he was on the train with me. He … He looks like maybe he could be a cousin or something so I was hoping …” Angus sighed. “But … I haven’t seen a ton of Sun Elves so …”

That hope was rekindled in Barry’s heart, but nothing added up.

Everything the reaper had said …

He looked down at the boy again.

“If I find out anything, I’ll let you know,” he started. “If I find her …”

“Yeah … You think it was an accident?”

“Yeah … L̶̶͝ų̸͟p̷͢͝ would never have done that on purpose … She had to have been hurt by losing our s̷̸͟͟o͜͏̷͜n̴͜͠͝҉ … She had to have just lost her composure.”

“I’m sorry, sir, I … I lost some of that? You spoke static there for a minute.”

If Barry wasn’t so focused on keeping his composure, it would have been gone. Instead, he chuckled, sadly.

“Sorry … There’s … There’s something that is keeping people from remembering her … But I promise you, if she is the one who killed your mother, for sure, it was an accident. She’s not a murderer.”

“Just like Taako …” Angus whispered.

The wheels were turning again. He needed to look in the archives. He needed to find out more about Taako.

“Sir … I think I have an idea. Thank you so much! When … when will I see you again?”

Barry smiled, internally, though Angus could not see the change in his form.

“Hopefully soon, kiddo.”

Angus waved and headed towards the militia headquarters. He had to solve this case.

And now he had a major lead.

~

Lucretia sighed, staring at the newspaper.

How could she have been so careless with this? Of course she couldn’t erase people completely. There were always loose ends, but she had thought that she had redacted enough.

But no, someone had opened up missing persons’ cases regarding her old reclaimers.

Someone was figuring this out and there was no way she could easily explain what had been going on. What had actually happened.

She needed to nip this in the bud.

She went down, planetside, and started looking for whoever was responsible.

Her heart nearly ripped in half when she discovered that it was the half-elf boy she had seen so many years earlier.

She could see that he had taped his ears and it nearly destroyed her. There was no way that this was Lup and Barry’s child. Even if Lup somehow survived, even if she were a lich right now, she would never, ever let her son do this to himself…

She steeled herself. She couldn’t be Lucretia, the chronicler, right now.

She had to be Madam Director.

“So, you’re the little fellow who’s been a thorn in my side,” she laughed, pushing down the hammering in her heart.

Angus looked up at her. He had rehearsed his speech for when he figured this out multiple times but now … He looked away.

“I … I was trying to figure out a different mystery and ended up discovering all of this … Are you responsible?” He asked. “Do you know why Taako has nothing in the records before ten years ago? Or Merle? Or Magnus?”

“How do you know them?” Lucretia asked, panicked.

“I saw them on the train. They wore bracers just like yours. Therefore, you should know who they are,” Angus began. “Do you have something to do with … with all of this?”

Lucretia smiled sadly.

This child was so perceptive. If she didn’t know better …

“What’s your name?” Lucretia asked.

“Angus. Angus McDonald.”

“Well, Angus … How would you like a job and all of the answers you’ve wanted?”


	17. Year 10 - The Crystal Kingdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angus and Lucretia talk. Barry has a realization.

_Unlike human infants, elves are able to see somewhat clearly at birth. It is unclear why they have evolved this trait, but care must be taken that elven infants are in pleasant surroundings when they are born. Half elf children tend to be more like their elven counterparts and are able to see at a much earlier age than their human counterparts, but their memories of early childhood are not as clear as with elves._

_Childhood trauma in half elves has not been studied as much as in other children. This is due to a lower sample size as most elf and human unions do not produce offspring._

_\- Childcare 101, 3̑ͫ͗͒̓̄͂ͥ̊ͣ̏̽̅͌̄̀̌͊͊͏͏̗̞̥̜̪͍̣̖̖̕r͔̟̝͇͇̰̫̥̫ͫ͌͛̎̑͊ͯ̊̀̆̌͒ͨ̇̂̔̓̕͟͢͞d̿ͬ̔ͪ͌ͭ̄͗̄̂̃҉̡̱̱̪̲͇̙̤̪̜̗͔̗̦͍̤̳͍͇̻͟ ̸͙̗͚̗͇̹͖̝̟͕̜̘̭̦̼͈͉̪̎́̀̔ͩͮ̽̓̈́̀ͥ͗ͣ͑͛͊ͩ̇ͦ̕ͅȨ̥̠͖̫̘͖̖̝̫̬͖̱ͥ͑͂̃ͦ̊̾͛̿̆͗̑̈̐dͯ̈́ͦ͒́̓ͥ͒͑̄̐ͥ̎̔ͦ͏̢̣̻͈̹̤̪͙̤̫͉͟͢͞i̷̙̟̞̠̗̤͖͙̖̖̗̪̜̜͍̟̤ͩ́̉͊͌̃͑ͭ͛̋̀̉ͤͯ́ͧ̅͌̕͜ͅt̀̋̈́̂̎̏ͫ̀͒́̋̎ͣͯ̃͒҉̴̳̙͈͈̭̻͇̹͙̠̼̺̻̣̩̬͜͢ͅḯ̱̬͙̰̜̰̱͉̭̯̫̯͚̓̽͛̔͌̌͜͟͝o̸͍̖͎̳̯͕̙̞̩͓̻̫͛̌̐̓̀͛̓ͬͪ̅ͅn͐̀̂̄̋̀ͬͣ̏̂̔̃̑ͩ̄ͧ̐͑̉҉̗̞͕̙͇̺̭̯̟͕̤̟̜̣̞̕͡͞ͅͅ ͕͎͈̹̬͚̹̩͙̣̭ͫͫͣͩ͘T̵̴͖̥̳̩̜̙̹̝̥͚̼ͣ͛͌̉͑̑͆̂ͫͩ͒̈̎ͦͭͯ̃ó̧̮͈͍̥̰̺̥͚̩̬͚̰͙̝͊̃̐͌̂ͣ͑͊̅́̓̈́̔̍̎͡ͅS̵̖̥̱̲̣̜̘̫̯̣͙̩͋̋ͦ͆̊ͯ̑̅̐͞ͅū̵̷ͮͮͣ͋̈͗̏̂͋̀͐͛̐ͪͧ͜҉̵̘̖͔̱̤n͖̭̗̝̮̜̻̪̫̹̯̱͙͚̱̫̂͊̍̈́̆̂̐ͦ̒͆ͫ̃͋ͯͩ̑̇̓ͪ͘͝ͅ_

 

  
Barry needed to get information. He needed to find out how to reverse this.

When he had first tried to get onto Lucretia’s moon base, he had been hit by the ward. He needed to possess someone.

When he saw his favorite halfling, wearing a Bureau of Balance bracer, he sighed and possessed him.

He would apologize when all of this was done.

His first order of business was to make sure the patches got to Magnus, Taako, and Merle. He convinced Avi to hold onto them until Candlenights. A gift from an old friend.

Then he made his way to the Director’s chambers.

He hadn’t meant to get caught. He thought he had mastered the puzzle of lights, but he started to lose control of Robbie and missed.

Alarm bells went off. Barry made Robbie run forward into the guarded, secret room.

And then he saw the tank.

“You’re fucking kidding me …” Barry growled.

Then he was banished.

~

Angus sat, looking at his Caleb Cleveland books.

The Red Robes were bad.

That meant the one who had called himself Barry was bad?

It didn’t seem right. He hadn’t seemed evil when he had been a human but … He supposed a lich in a red robe wasn’t to be trusted.

He hadn’t told Lucretia everything, of course, but he had told her just enough to have his confidence shaken by this information. He was back to square one. This Red Robe could have been misleading him. Trying to get him to give him information. And he had been stupid enough to trust him. He was glad he hadn’t told her that he had seen one. That one had been following him.

She would never have let him on the base if he had.

He sighed. The Red Robe must have possessed that poor Barry guy and then let him get hit by that carriage when he was done with him. Then he must have impersonated him to get Angus to trust him. To get him closer to … what?

And if a lich had killed his mother … and Barry looked so much like Angus did when he looked into the mirror …

Had Barry been his father? Had this Red Robe possessed his father, knowing that Angus would trust him? Would get him closer to him for whatever nefarious purpose he had … for whatever he had done to his mother …

But Barry didn’t act like he knew he was the child’s father, unless that was a side effect of being possessed. Perhaps Barry had been looking for him when he had been possessed. Perhaps he had been so close and then the lich found him.

Or … Barry didn’t even know he’d had a son.

Angus felt sick. He didn’t know what was worse. To have a father who didn’t even know he had existed or to have a father who had been looking for him, only to be taken over and killed by a lich who just wanted to hurt him.

He looked at the books again.

Suddenly, he didn’t want them anymore.

~

The battle wagon race had been exciting, even from Lup’s vantage point inside of the Umbra Staff. She had wished she could have projected herself out more, but her control over her own awareness had been waning as of late. It was troubling, but she tried not to dwell on it.

It was much easier not to think about what her staff did to the magical energy that it consumed.

When the staff consumed the arcane core, she felt invigorated once again and was able to help Taako cast a fireball. Just a signal to let him know. To tell him she was still there. That she was with him.

But he didn’t understand. And she knew he didn’t but she still wished.

She was tired from casting the spell but she needed to stay alert. She needed to stay awake as Taako, Magnus, and Merle went to Captain Bane’s office. She heard as the man got more agitated and realized, with horror, that he was under the thrall of the sash.

He was under the thrall and she was too weak to take control.

Then she felt him.

_Barry ..._

She heard his voice and wanted to scream out.

  
She wanted him to see her. To break her out of the Umbra Staff. To help her make everything right.

But he couldn’t hear her. Of course he couldn’t.

She heard him trying to sound frightening. Trying to sound evil.

But he still just sounded like the loveable nerd to her.

She missed him so much.

When he disappeared, she couldn’t make herself stay out any longer.

If she had, she would have seen Angus, the boy from the train.

She would have seen him with Lucretia.

But even just the little bit of effort it took in Captain Bane’s office was too much.

She needed a rest.

~

Angus wanted to get to know Taako. He wanted Taako to like him. It wasn’t even because he thought Taako looked so much like he could be related. He just idolized the Sun Elf, even more than he had as a toddler when he had first seen the “Sizzle It Up With Taako” flyers.

Taako was so cool.

Angus wanted to be just like him.

This was why he invited himself to the Candlenights party.

He had decided to give the three reclaimers his Caleb Cleveland books. He didn’t feel like holding onto them anymore and he didn’t really have anything else.

When Taako gave him the macaroons, he took a bite and felt a twinge of nostalgia. There was something about them. Something he couldn’t place. It didn’t make sense, but the flavors made him start to wonder.

He filed away the thought as he watched Taako look down at the books that Angus had given the three of them.

Something about his face when he looked back up at him made Angus almost ask him if he somehow knew his mother, but the festivities were interrupted.

Another mission.

One where he could help.

He was curious when he spied on the three of them choosing their null suits. All red.

Something about the color red just kept hounding his mind. He brushed it off as anxiety about the Red Robe. About what he would do if he saw him again.

He hoped he never would.

~

Barry sped through the lab, as fast as his form could carry him. He had to find them. He had to tell them.

There was a reaper. There was a reaper and they were all on his bounty list.

Even worse, the Hunger was going to be back in less than a year. They needed to know. They needed to get back and figure out a plan.

They needed to leave this world.

He weaved his way through the rapidly crystallizing lab. Taako’s relic. It was out of control.

_Again._

If Taako had known … Would he be able to handle this? Would he be able to handle knowing that this was his relic?

He passed the cosmoscope room and had an idea.

He needed to wait for them to get there.

He hoped they would make it.

~

Angus stared at his stone of farspeech. There was no answer. Nothing but static, then silence.

He covered his mouth to try and choke back the sob.

He had gotten them killed. All he was trying to do was help. Now he would never know. He would never know what really happened to his mother. Who his father was.

Who Taako was …

He looked up at Lucretia who paced, frantically. She would look over to Davenport, grief on her face as she looked at the gnome for a moment.

There was something about him as well.

Angus needed to focus. They couldn’t have died. They had to be ok.

They had been through worse.

He didn’t realize he had been crying openly until Lucretia brought him a handkerchief. She knelt down next to him and rubbed his back, gently.

“It will be alright, Angus,” she started. “I know it will be …”

He nodded and sniffled.

“I just … I was so close,” he whispered. “I … I need to know, Lucretia. I have to know what happened to my mom and if those Red Robes did it …”

Lucretia froze for a moment and then pulled him into a close, protective hug.

“Who … who told you that a Red Robe killed your mom?”

“The one I met …” he whimpered. “He … he had possessed someone who had been really nice to me when I was younger and … He … He later told me what happened to my mom. That a lich in a red robe, one like him, had killed her. That she had lost control.”

Lucretia’s heart dropped.

Lup … She couldn’t have …

She’d seen Taako with Lup’s Umbra Staff. She’d heard how he found it.

If Lup had died and lost her child then it was possible but …

“I … I’m so sorry Angus,” Lucretia started. “When you had said that you were solving a murder …”

“There’s just so much I don’t know and I don’t like it!” Angus cried.

Lucretia wanted to tell him everything right then. She wanted to take him into her secret office and give him the baby voidfish ichor so that he would have a bit of closure. So that he would know.

And maybe then, she could find Lup.

Knowing that Taako had found Lup’s Umbra Staff but no Lup had nearly shattered her. She had seen Taako, seen how much he had changed, and once again realized just how much she had ruined everything. When she eventually would be able to tell them, to inoculate them … They would hate her.

She looked at Angus who sniffled. She needed to tell him. To give him that closure at least. She would figure out how to deal with finding Lup later. If the worst had happened, If Lup really had lost control and killed someone, then perhaps a reset would bring her back.

The stone of farspeech crackled. Lucretia grabbed it.

“Come in! Come in!” Lucretia frantically started, into the stone.

Angus held his breath.

~

Lup heard him again. She felt him again.

Barry. He was here.

She had to get his attention. She needed someone to let her out. She could tell that being in the staff was slowly siphoning her energy off. With every spell cast, it became harder to store up enough to stay conscious.

Barry saw the Umbra Staff. Lup could feel his soul staring into her.

But she knew he couldn’t see her or hear her, no matter how loud she called out.

She had winced when Taako had once again called her a guy, but he didn’t know. He didn’t remember.

Then Barry started to lose composure and Lup felt herself crumble. She couldn’t watch this. She couldn’t watch him lose control. Lose himself.

“YOU FOUND HER?” He cried out.

“That was a lady?” Merle asked.

Lup watched as Barry disappeared in a spout of flame.

She couldn’t stay out anymore. She needed a rest.

She needed to not think about what would happen if he truly lost his composure.

~

It had almost felt like old times, joking with them in the lab. He had almost forgotten, when he was trying to explain everything, that they didn’t remember him. That they didn’t know who he was.

But then he had seen her umbra staff.

The memory of that moment, of seeing the lack of care, the lack of concern - It had nearly unmade him, but in the moments after bursting into flame, he thought of her.

He thought of their song.

Of their day on the empty planet.

He hummed the song to himself as he composed himself in his cave hideout. He needed to think. He needed to try and find her.

Then the thought came to him.

He had asked where the staff had been found. Where Taako had gotten it.

He had heard Taako say he had found her body, even if he didn’t realize …

She couldn’t have killed Angus’ mother.

_When did Taako …_

And it hit him, suddenly.

_Wave Echo Cave._

She had been in there the whole time.

Her gauntlet had been there. He wished he had gone now. That he hadn’t stayed behind when the boys had gone. He could have at least seen her body. Could have had a clue ...

He hovered over his maps and looked over at his body.

It wasn’t ready. It needed to be, but it wasn’t there yet.

He sighed. He needed to leave the wards. He needed to go out there.

What the reaper had said, it didn’t make any sense now. If Taako had found Lup’s Umbra Staff in wave echo cave then maybe …

The Half-elf boy … It was too good to be true, but maybe there was a clue in that.

He had to talk to the reaper.

~

Lup had a list of people that she currently hated.

Greg Fucking Grimaldis would always be at the top.

Originally Cyrus Rockseeker was near the top as well, but after the bullshit that he had pulled, Lucas quickly was taking second place as “Asshole who needs to die”.

She watched Taako struggling in vain to break free of the trap Lucas had set. A rift opened and she saw a ball of light come out.

A ball of light that sent a chill through her bones.

The Grim Fucking Reaper.

She struggled to take control of the Umbra Staff, to try and get it to move.

The umbrella opened and closed and scooted.

She was doing it! She could get to Taako! She could help protect her brother.

She tried not to think about the fact that the Reaper could have easily also gotten Barry. She tried not to think about what would happen if he found him.

If he found her.

Merle dispelled the trap and Lup felt Taako grab the staff. She prepared herself. She didn’t have enough energy to cast anything. Whatever he chose, it would have to be on his own.

“I’m about to tentacle your dick!”

Lup laughed triumphantly as the spell channeled through the staff.

_Hell yeah! That’s my brother!_

~

Kravitz sighed, defeated as he stared at his bounty list.

His original bounties were crossed off for now. Three of them, at least. He didn’t know what to do about them in the long run but for now, those cases were closed. He was about to finish the task of putting the legion back in the stockade when something stopped him.

He felt it in the air.

The lich he had been tracking was back.

He grinned. The lich had made it too easy for him. He set another emissary on the task of getting the Legion reprocessed while he created a rift out of the Astral plane.

There he saw him.

“There you are,” Kravitz chuckled. “Are you turning yourself in?”

“No,” Barry started. “I just have a question ... About Angus … That half-elf.”

Kravitz smirked.

“I still need to reap you.”

“You will have to catch me first. Who is that boy?”

“He was a child I found. His mother had been killed in an area where a lich was reported. Silverpoint which I’m sure you’re familiar with killing people with,” Kravitz began.

Barry winced.

“Captain Bane was about to kill my friends.”

“Your friends?”

“They … they wouldn’t remember me …” Barry sighed. “Did you see the lich?”

“No. Just the Sun elf and the baby,” Kravitz said, inching closer, scythe in hand. “But the energy signature felt pretty fucking similar to yours. Any more questions?”

“Yes. Where were they?”

Kravitz laughed.

“I guess I owe you that for being so cooperative.”

“Again, I’m not turning myself in. I just need to know.”

Kravitz chuckled. He brought the scythe to Barry’s form.

“Wave Echo Cave.”

Barry didn’t think.

He just acted.

He banished Kravitz, as he had done before, and then fell to the ground, his form crackling.

_Lup … Her sending spell …_

_Wave Echo Cave …_

_Angus …_

He had to get back to the Bureau. He had to stop whatever Lucretia was planning.

They couldn’t leave this world.

They couldn’t leave his son.


	18. Year 10 - The Eleventh Hour and Magic Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angus celebrates a birthday and makes a new connection. Kravitz searches. Lucretia regrets.

_The placement of the runes are most important. We have determined that by adding onto the previously etched in runes, my body will not be hurt during this process. If all goes well, then when the reset occurs, our child will still reset with us and be able to develop, unharmed on a safer cycle._

_We are not sure if the ritual will affect their soul, but as far as we have been able to determine, it will only affect Barry and myself._

_I have made sure that Barry’s runes have extra safeguards as well. Being human, he will need more protection than I will. Human souls are not made of the same pure magic that elven ones are._

_It will be interesting to be able to see it._

_Ļ̵͚̱̬͔͍͉̮̲̮̖̰̾̎ͧ͊ͯͮ̑́ͤͥ̐̋͜͝ư̛̜̭̖̥͉͔͈͋͛̂̉̏̃̈́̔̽̿ͫ͆̈́̍ͅp̵̸̢͍̲͉͓̺̯̭̳̤̺̼̰͔̈́ͤ̆̿̽̓̄ͣ͝ͅ,ͮ̾́͋̎̔̾ͮ͑҉̰̠̥͍͕̻̖̼̤̘̦̖ ̸̧̫̝͓̠͓̹͎̐̓̆ͬ͗̔̅ͩ̇̒ͬ̂͆͛͒̉͑͢ͅS̷̡̟̖̞͎͔͕͓͓̺͖̣̤͚̘͓̟̜͆̍ͮ͐̈ͥ͑͆͑̓͂ͤ̈́͂̍̎̎͟t̶ͤ͆̂͑͌̆̉ͪ̃̔̋̑̅͆͌ͨ҉̷̩̦͖͔̼̖͠uͫ͗̂͛͌ͮ̅̆͛ͭ̐͢͏̞̥̥̱͓̯̦͍d̝̱̲̦̠̻͈̞͈͎͈̫̪̭̆ͦͦ͗̑ͤ́͞ǐ̟̟̟̬̣͑̈̓̐̓͊̄ͯ̿͌̚͘͘͢͞e̿̈̓͌̀̐̆̀ͮͣ̎̈́̾̀̚̕͘͏͔̰͈͕̣̬s̮̩͕̫̝ͯ̅̀͆ͭ̉͋̈́̎͂ͦͥ̂͢ ̷̳̰̝̘̲̤̣̱͙̠̰̖͕̯̺̪̜͍̘̿̎ͣ͗ͮ̋͠ǫ̸̛͓̭̙͙͓̲̱̬̺̯͚͍͍͎̩ͯ̂͋ͥ͆ͥ͊̽͒ͩ̒͆ͨ̄nͯ̌ͨ̓̉ͯ̕҉͏̣̠̗̬̼̺̰͚̖͕͍̘̙ ̸̼̟͈͖̻͇͍͈͎͕̣̮̳̳̯̳̠͋ͧ͆ͭ͗ͭ͑̇͢B̷ͩ̔̓ͪ̉͑̐ͥ͒͏͖̼͎̦̖̖̖̗͞e̛̳̘͙̱̝̤̽̃̃̄̇̓ͩ͊ͫ̆͊̈ͣ̌ͫ͝ͅc̵̴̨̨͇͕͓̖͚̼͕͕̼͈̩̺͎̠̻ͬͩ̂̎͋̈́̈́ͅô̵̸̂̓̎͋̽ͦ̓ͩ̇͑̒ͮ̋ͮ̚͝͏͏̤̯̲̝͇ṃ̻̼͇͎̬̱͍̺̘̦̲͍̪̠ͦ͌̓ͯ̏̑̽͆ͭ͜͝ͅi̴̹͉̟̞̠̥̞̱̥̗͍ͤͭ̐̿ͦ̊̅̌ͩͪ̉̋ͥ̊͂̿ͦͭ͞ṅ̩̥͚͕̥̐̓̏͠g͐̍ͦ̄͑ͬ͒҉͍̦͉̠̩̜͚̮̥͍̘͔͕̝̹̱̕͘͢ ̝͓͖͈̗̞̹̖̘̻͙̰͉̣̳̞̏ͪͨ͌͑̈̉͌ͫ̚͡͞a̧̢͕̤͇̬͓͚̠̱͙͈̺̻͓̖ͣ͂͋ͧͅ ̸̨̛͕̤̻̱̤͚̭͚̠͉̤ͬ͌͐ͤ̅ͤ͘̕Ļ̶̡̫̜̠̥̙͉͍̖͙̏͑̿̽̽̆ͪ̒ͨͥ͡i̡̨̤̜̠̓ͣ͒ͨ̇ͮͨ̔̍̍̑̊̆̿ͩ͐̇̾ͅç̵̢͈̻͈̝̬̙̼͕͉͉̟̞ͪͫͭͥ̇͒̆h̵̵̥̮̰͖̓ͨ̆̏͐̓_

 

 

Lucretia wasn’t sure whose idea the party was, but she stared at the invitation with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

She was Madam Director and needed to keep the ruse going, but a part of her wanted to have this moment. To relax and enjoy an evening with her friends, even if they didn’t see her as such right now.

So, she arrived at Magnus, Merle, and Taako’s dorm with a present in hand and a weak smile on her face.

“Welcome!” Magnus grinned, opening the door. “Ango doesn’t know and just thinks he’s coming over for a magic lesson, so this will be great!”

Lucretia nodded.

This week was hard for her anyway, so it was hard to focus.

In a couple of days, it would be the anniversary of when she had lost her friends.

When she knew she had lost Lup.

When she knew Lup and Barry lost their …

“Hey! You need to get behind the couch!” Merle grumbled. “Haven’t you ever done a surprise party before?”

Lucretia smiled.

“Sorry, Merle, I suppose I’m a little out of practice.”

She ducked behind the couch and waited.

Taako was the first one to walk through the door, about fifteen minutes later.

“So, the trick with mage hand is to visualize something not so … horrifying,” Taako explained as he opened the door, Angus eagerly taking notes next to him. “Seriously, kiddo, we need to figure out why-”

Taako flicked on the light to the dorm and the gathered members of the Bureau of Balance leapt up and cheered for Angus.

“SURPRISE! Happy birthday!”

Angus froze. He didn’t know what to do. No one had ever done anything like this before and he had no frame of reference for why everyone that he had considered friends and family were surprising him like this. He adjusted his glasses, trying to keep his composure and cleared his throat.

“Um … Sirs?” He asked.

“We found out it was your birthday this week, kiddo,” Magnus explained, leaping over the couch and picking up Angus. “So, we decided to throw a party for you!”

“Oh …” Angus started, a little crestfallen. He hadn’t ever had one that started this way, but he knew that it would soon devolve into sitting around awkwardly while the adults talked. “Well, thank you. I guess we um … Are we going to eat and then you guys can all talk?”

“Nonsense!” Magnus grinned. “Johann is going to play us some music and then we can do party games and stuff if you like!”

“Party games?” Angus asked. “I don’t … I don’t understand.”

He’d heard about them, sure, from the elven boys who had become the bane of his existence. He had almost been invited to one of their parties, but then the invitation was taken away, the boys only having done so in order to mock him. He didn’t know the first thing about birthday parties like this.

“Don’t worry, Bubelah,” Taako grinned. “I didn’t do birthday parties until I was much older so this will be a first for me too.”

Angus was even more confused. He’d always thought that elves had parties for every birthday. And Taako was a Sun Elf - a High Elf! He should for sure have been rich enough to have huge parties when he was a kid.

“Wait,” Angus started. “You didn’t have …”

The sound of Johann’s violin interrupted the little half-elf and soon the festivities began. He watched as the rules for Pin the tail on the Gerblin was explained and eventually watched an argument erupt between Taako and Leon over Taako’s use of mage hand to cheat at the game. A round of musical chairs was next, and Angus tried to not feel sick at the attention and chaos that was surrounding him.

He hadn’t ever had people pay this much attention to him. All he’d really wanted to do was go down and maybe see Jeff Angel wrestle at Chaos Stadium this week. He didn’t even really want people to try and celebrate for him because his parties had always been so boring before.

This one, however, was overwhelming.

His guests were sitting around, enjoying cake when Angus felt someone sit down next to him. He looked up to see Merle looking at him with an odd softness to him.

“Kid, you’ve hardly touched your cake. What’s wrong?”

“Oh … Uh … well, This is kinda new for me,” He started. “I’ve never actually done a birthday party before. Like, I honestly didn’t even know anyone knew it was coming up and I don’t usually get so much … attention,” he panted. “I usually am sitting in a corner by now just reading a book while my grandpa …”

He trailed off. He hadn’t thought about his grandfather since leaving Neverwinter. He had just thrown himself into cases and into work for the Bureau but now he realized that he had lost the only member of his family that he truly had.

He sniffled and wiped his eyes.

“Sorry, I just … I guess I got overwhelmed,” Angus whispered. “I really appreciate this, I do … I just … I’ve never had people do this much for me before.”

Merle smiled, sadly. There was something about Angus, in this moment, that felt familiar. Perhaps it was just because of what he had helped his own daughter through. Perhaps it was something else, something he couldn’t verbalize, as much as he wanted to.

“Kiddo, believe me I … I understand what you’re going through, I really do. I guess we should have asked you first, huh?”

“No, sir, it’s ok! Really! I just … I’m not used to this.”

He didn’t realize it until just now but he actually was calm. Angus looked down at his untouched plate of cake. He guessed Merle had done something cleric-y to him. Maybe calm emotions?

For all that Taako and Magnus complained, Merle was a pretty good cleric, all things considered.

“Th-thanks, sir,” Angus smiled. “This actually helped a lot.”

Merle grinned and ruffled Angus’ hair. There was something else about this kid. Something familiar, but he couldn’t focus on the thought for too long or else his brain would dissolve into static.

“No problem, half-pint,” Merle sighed. He rose to his feet and then paused, turning back to look at him before he could join Taako as he tried to hustle Killian’s shoes away from her at a game of pool. “Oh, and we’re going to a wrestling show on your birthday so I …” Merle gritted his teeth as if it hurt him to be kind to this child. “I guess you can come with.”

Angus’ eyes lit up.

“Really, sir?”

“Yeah … There’s some sort of murder or something that happened and -”

Merle froze as he felt Angus’ arms wrap around him tightly.

“Oh thank you sir! Thank you so much! This is the best birthday present ever! A new mystery!”

“Oh shit …” Merle groaned.

~

Lup had listened in, trying to project herself out just enough to see what was happening.

A party. They were throwing a party for this little boy.

She was glad that he had been working with the Bureau of Balance now. She had worried about him after he had been on the train. Had worried that this child was traveling alone.

Now, however, she knew he had someone to look after him.

It was strange. She felt oddly protective around this child, and even started to feel pangs of sadness as she watched him becoming more and more anxious during the party.

It was wishful thinking. That’s what it had to be. The anxiousness reminded her so much of Barry. Reminded her so much of how he had been before the launch. In the earlier cycles.

Before Legato.

But this wasn’t their child. She had already confirmed that. Yes, his name was Angus, but it wasn’t Angus Bluejeans. No one had come to grab him. She hadn’t seen or felt Lucretia at all during her wait in Wave Echo Cave.

Her son had to have died. Somehow. Perhaps wild animals had come into the cave and taken him. Perhaps it was gerblins.

Perhaps it was her own foolishness at trying to solve her problems by herself.

It was getting too difficult to keep herself projected, so she retreated into the darkness.

She could feel her energy being sapped. Every day it was a struggle to just stay conscious. To stay herself.

As she tried to meditate, she began to realize that time was running out.

She wasn’t sure if she would make it to them eventually leaving this world.

She wasn’t sure if there would be anything left to reset.

~

Taako couldn't find anything in any books regarding the extreme discomfort he felt.

He found himself pacing the communal living room, trying to deal with thoughts and feelings that deeply disturbed him.

He couldn't ask Merle. He was too ashamed.

Even worse was the horrible feeling he had during this week when he would see Magnus. They barely knew each other (in Taako terms) and yet he wanted to curl up in his arms and let the warmth take him over.

He couldn't understand it. He couldn't push the thoughts from his mind.

So he meditated for the first time in ages. As he sat, he heard the door open, Magnus’ booming voice echoing in.

“Hey, Taako, do you need anything? I’m just heading down to the cafeteria for …”

Magnus stopped.

“T-Taako? Are you ok? What’s wrong?”

Taako pinched the bridge of his nose.

So much for meditating.

“Dude … just go. I kinda need to focus. I’m don’t want to have the thoughts I’m having and there’s like … nothing here that can help me so I’m just gonna hang tight in here and wait for it to blow over. I don’t know if I was hit by a spell or what but … This sucks and everything is too … Everything!”

Magnus walked in, quietly. Something was tugging on his heart as he watched Taako clench his eyes and breathe.

“What thoughts?”

“Like … dude, we know each other and are friends and all but I really don’t want to share this.”

“Come on. Taako, it’s ok. We’re a team.”

“Magnus … I’m serious. I don’t want this and it’s frustrating and aggravating and it hurts!”

“It hurts?” Magnus said, freezing in place. “Should I get Merle?”

“God no. He’ll tease me relentlessly and I can’t do that right now!” Taako gritted out. “I just need to wait this out.”

“Ok … Are you sure you can’t tell me?”

“I … So you know I like guys, right?”

“Well, yeah. I saw you flirting with death back in Lucas’ lab-”

“Well … I also don’t want … I don’t like being … touched. And right now, that’s all I want and it’s scaring me, Mags. It’s scaring me and I don’t like it! And … I keep thinking about you and that reaper and I don’t … Mags, please go. I’ll … I’ll be better soon. I promise.”

Taako didn’t know for sure, but he knew that this had to end eventually.

_Right?_

Magnus sighed and closed the door softly, waiting outside. He wondered if he should go over Taako’s head and talk to Merle, but Taako was right. Merle was the worst person he could talk to about this.

So he went to the Director.

He knocked softly on her office door and peeked his head in.

“Hey … Lu-Madam Director?” He started, remembering that she had been so disturbed when they had used her name.

“What is it,” she started, looking up from her journals to see Magnus’ concerned expression. “Magnus? What’s wrong?”

“It … It’s Taako. He’s not doing well and I didn’t want to talk to Merle about it because … well, Taako didn’t want me to.”

Lucretia froze.

She had redacted too much. She had realized that, in erasing so many things from their home world, she had neglected to make sure she could come up with ways to fill in things that occurred.

Things like the Luume'irma.

Which Magnus usually comforted Taako through.

Once again, she was struck by the weight of her actions. She was reminded just how much she took.

Taako had once trusted Magnus but after a decade apart, they may as well have been strangers.

And Magnus didn’t know …

“Oh … Um … Well, there are … ancient texts that existed in my studies of … A period of time where every ten years, Sun Elves would go through … these feelings,” she said, carefully choosing her words. “It only lasted a week but a lot of Sun Elves didn’t like it so they augmented their bodies … I think Taako may have been immune to it.”

“Oh …” Magnus started. “So … what should I do? I don’t like seeing my friend so upset. Should I go … help him?”

“No!” Lucretia started before remembering herself. “No … Just … Let him be. He’ll be alright in a week. I promise.”

Magnus nodded and returned to the dorm. As he sat in front of Taako’s door, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of deja vu.

But when he tried to make sense of it, his mind dissolved into static.

~

Angus was so excited for his magic lessons. He loved learning from Taako, having this moment to be close to his idol. He’d had to wait a week (apparently, his tutor had been sick), but he was alright with that.

Taako was someone who might be able to answer all of his questions, eventually.

He also had another reason to take lessons from Taako. He was going to ask him on this particular lesson. Sure he couldn’t do it himself, he wasn’t high enough level …

But Taako could …

“Hey, Mr. Taako, sir?” Angus asked as Taako prepared to teach him a cantrip. “You … specialize in transmutation magic, right?”

“Sure thing, my dude,” Taako started. “What’s up?”

“I … I was wondering if you could do something for … For me … If you could change something, that is ...”

Taako looked at Angus. Something about those words. There was something in his mind that dissolved into static when he tried to place the memory.

Just like in the dreams he had.

“What’s wrong, Ango?”

Angus pulled off his cap and untaped his ears.

Taako felt his heart break.

Angus trusted him enough to show him. To show him that he was not human. That he was a half elf.

And that he was ashamed of what he was.

“I … I don’t want these anymore,” Angus whispered. “I want to be one or the other so if you could just change my ears …”

“Angus …” Taako started, kneeling down to him. “My dude, I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to be a half-elf. You’re like … the best of both worlds!”

“Not according to the other elves,” Angus sighed. “You’re like, the first elf who isn’t a jerk about it.”

Taako felt like that was wrong. He never remembered elves being so cruel about half-elves. About humans.

Hell, that was why-

Static.

He shook his head to clear it and then looked back at Angus.

“Look my dude, I can teach you disguise self so you can pull pranks, but I’m not going to make you give up what makes you you. And if you need to, you can talk with Johann. He’s a half elf and look at him now! Making music for a Voidfish! Everyone loves him too! We don’t care that he’s not one or the other. He’s Johann and that’s what makes him awesome. And your our Ango McDango.”

Angus sniffled.

“Thanks sir.”

Taako smiled and leaned in to whisper into Angus’ ear.

“And if you ever tell anyone that I had this moment with you and that I care about you …”

“You’ll end me.”

“In seconds.”

Angus chuckled and hugged Taako.

~

Lup wanted to try and project herself out again. She could sense it.

They were running out of time.

She had to tell them somehow.

Her chance came when Taako was about to cast a spell. She didn’t realize until it was too late that it was supposed to be a transmutation spell. She pulled back as much as she could, but it was too late.

The sweet little boy’s macaroons were destroyed.

She would make it up to him eventually.

But she needed to use this moment. She needed to send a message.

L …  
U …  
P …

It took all of her energy, but she did it. She sent a message, hoping that Taako would see it. Would understand it.

She looked over at Angus, at the sweet little boy and nearly gasped.

His ears.

They were pointed.

“I have a new mystery to solve!” She heard him chirp.

 _Huh …_ She thought as darkness reclaimed her.

~

Johann sat, tuning his violin. He had another composition for the Voidfish. Something that he had been working on for weeks now. He played, softly at first, taken in by the music. The Voidfish floated nearby, seemingly watching is every move.

“Um ...Mr. Johann, sir?” he heard a small voice ask at the doorway.

He looked over to see Angus standing there, his cap off and in his hand. The pointed tips of the boy’s dark ears were bright red.

“What’s up, little dude?” the bard asked.

“I … I was talking with Taako a while back and he said maybe I could talk to you?” He started. “I’m a half elf, like you, and … I was ashamed of it and asked Taako to change me but … But you’re a half elf too and you’re like, such a cool bard and I was wondering … Can I learn some of what you know?”

Johann smiled, sadly.

He’d never had a student before. Most of what he did was self taught anyway. He didn’t know how to teach, but the look on the boy’s face moved him.

“Heh, sure thing, kiddo,” he laughed. “So, was there any sort of instrument you were thinking of?”

“Well … when I heard your violin, it reminded me of a song and I want to know how to play it. And since you’re a bard and good at violin …”

“Say no more my little dude! Here, can you hum it for me? I can figure out the notes.”

“Oh! Yeah! Um …”

Angus began to hum as Johann transposed, playing along.

“Ah, so it’s in E major … so .. F# … A F# E D C# D G G G A...”

As he played, he heard a wail come up from the tank. He looked over at the Voidfish who twirled and called out, echoing the notes that Johann played. It was almost like the last time the Voidfish had sang, except this time, they seemed happier, as if they knew this song.

He continued to play as Angus hummed the song and the Voidfish lit up.

He’d never had this happen before, where the Voidfish not only knew something he was playing but also didn’t wipe it from existence after he had created it.

Johann looked down at Angus who had some tears pricking his eyes. He smiled sadly and stopped playing, ruffling the child’s hair.

“We can go get you a violin and then start doing lessons, little man,” he began.

“I’d like that very much, sir.”

Johann led Angus out of the room, neither one noticing the Voidfish pressing one tendril up on the glass as they left.

~

Angus sat by his Stone of Farspeech. He had been relieved when Avi told him that they had safely landed and that they were on their way through the bubble. Now he could focus on his mystery du jour.

The Red Robes. There was something Lucretia wasn’t telling them about the Red Robes.

He had been plagued with nightmares again, ever since the magic lesson that started this new mystery. His vision was always blurry in the most common one he had, but he always saw the same image. Something that his brain couldn’t make sense of.

He found himself, absentmindedly drawing as he waited to hear any news at all from the reclaimers.

Lucretia came up behind him with a plate of cookies.

“Angus, we probably won’t be able to hear anything until they get out of there,” Lucretia started.

“I know, Ma’am, but … If they need me, then I need to be listening,” he explained. “I’ve learned a lot since they grabbed the Philosopher’s Stone and so I know I can actually help now!”

Lucretia ruffled Angus’ hair and looked down at his paper.

“Drawing something?”

“Yeah, I guess. I was just doodling. I’ve been having a lot of nightmares lately,” he sighed. “Leon said that drawing them out might help me so I’ve just sort of been … doing this.”

Lucretia looked down and then bit back a gasp.

“Oh … Wow …”

Angus looked down at the drawing.

“Oh … yeah … I keep having the same nightmare. It’s blurry but … Yeah …”

He looked up to realize that Lucretia was standing in the doorway, her shoulders slumped and her hand covering her mouth.

He looked back down at the drawing. He supposed it had been just him trying to make sense of the latest nightmare, but this was the most detailed it had ever been.

The Red Robe from his nightmares was in the center of his blurred vision. The one who looked down at him with blackened skin, closed eyes …

And a sad smile.

~

Taako watched time pass by as he was shown his own past.

Static. That static was there again, right next to him, after a long period of static that had no explanation.

It hurt too much for him to try to make sense of it, so he shut his mind off to it. Like he always did.

Then the Chalice showed him Glamour Springs.

Taako wanted to turn away. He didn’t want to see this. He didn’t need this.

But then he saw.

Sazed.

That bastard was going to poison him.

Instead, forty people died.

He watched everyone coming up for samples. Then he saw a face.

A face that didn’t make any sense being there. A face that shouldn’t have been there.

_Barry?_

It didn’t make sense. He couldn’t have been in Glamour Springs and also been in Phandalin. Everyone who had eaten that food had died.

Everyone.

How was this possible?

He couldn’t accept the offer. It wasn’t his fault and he had to know now.

Something was being hidden from him.

When they watched Phandalin burn again, Barry being pummeled to the ground, Taako stared intently.

There had to be something that he was missing. He wanted to tell the others but, he couldn’t. Not when he didn’t even know what was missing.

~

Lucretia sat in her study.

That drawing. That couldn’t have been …

She buried her head in her hands. This had gone too far. It had gone too far but she couldn’t stop now.

She looked over at Junior's tank. If she gave out his ichor, would this put an end to everything? Would they ever forgive her?

Would this world, and every world, be lost?

She wanted to grab Angus. She wanted to bring him in here and let him learn everything. Seeing that picture … that was Lup. That had to be her which meant …

She choked back a sob.

He had survived. He had survived and she had erased him from his family

And where was Lup now? She was a lich. She should have been with him. And Barry … did he know now?

Her heart was heavy with regret. She had separated Barry from his son. He would never forgive her.

And Lup. If she had just waited. If she had gone to find the cave. To find Lup … would she still be around?

She thought back to something Taako had said. About the Raven Queen’s emissary. Her blood ran cold.

What if she got reaped?

It had never happened on any of the cycles. She had no frame of reference for what could have happened to Lup.

If her soul even existed anymore.

The tears flowed freely as Lucretia buried her head in her hands.

She had fucked up.

And there was no turning back now

~

Barry watched them come out of the bubble and breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that they wouldn’t have taken the Chalice. There was no way.

But there was still that fear ...

He made himself known to them, confirmed that they had indeed resisted the thrall, and then locked eyes with Taako.

Something in Taako’s eyes …

“I’m really proud of you,” he began, much to the others’ confusion.

Then Magnus called him one of “the bad guys”. If he had blood, it would have run cold in his veins.

“Who told you that?” Barry asked.

But he knew. Even before they said anything, he knew.

Why had Lucretia done this? This wasn’t like her. This wasn’t like her at all.

“I need to know … Do you trust me?” He asked.

“Hell no!”

It was too much.

He had lost his friends. His family.

Taako didn’t remember him. Didn’t remember Lup. Didn’t remember any of it.

He grasped at himself, trying to think of his Best Day. Of his anchor.

“Lup … They don’t trust me … I can’t do it anymore, Lup … I’m sorry ….”

He could hear her voice. He could feel her.

He had to keep himself together.

~

Taako watched as the Red Robed lich tried to gain composure. He heard him mutter to himself and the one word that had been repeating in his mind escaped the lich’s lips.

“Lup …”

The lich knew what this word meant. This Red Robe somehow knew …

But Taako couldn’t make sense of it.

And it hurt.

~

Barry rose up from the ground, his composure regained.

He gave them a final warning and vanished. He needed to get back to his hidden lab. He had been out for too long.

The Reaper would be coming.

~

Angus eagerly welcomed back the Reclaimers, hoping that he could spend some time with Taako. He wanted a magic lesson, of course, but there was another motive.

He needed to study that umbrella.

Every time he was near it, there was a painful sense of familiarity.

Every night after he did, he had the nightmare about the Red Robe.

On one such night, Angus awoke with a start. The image of the Red Robe filled his mind while a woman’s voice weakly sang that lullaby to him. Angus couldn't get the song out of his mind so he climbed out of bed and grabbed his tiny practice violin.

He had memorized the notes, the music flowing naturally as he played. He closed his eyes, trying to imagine his mother.

Davenport had been wandering the dorms. He’d been trying to clear the constant static that had been filling his mind more and more as he got closer to Merle, Magnus, and Taako. He couldn't piece words or thoughts together, the ideas he tried to form becoming a jumble the more he tried to make sense of them.

He heard music coming down the hallway and it struck something inside of him. He followed the sound to Angus’ dorm and stood outside. The music felt so familiar but he couldn't place why. He sat down outside the door and listened, his ears flicking curiously as Angus played.

Angus knew he was being watched, but he couldn't stop. Not now. Not when he needed to try and make sense of the nightmare.

He opened his eyes for a moment and looked at Davenport. He wasn't sure if the music had spurred his mind or not but Angus had started noticing things about Lucretia’s ward. Things that didn't make sense.

He had seen plenty of gnomes growing up and had even been taking cases for Leon. It was why Angus chastised himself for not noticing that Davenport did not look like other gnomes.

Most gnomes had hair colors that ranged from white to grey, in the boy’s experience. Davenport had bright red hair and a neatly trimmed mustache. He was also much smaller than any other gnomes he had seen …

And no other gnomes had expressive, pointed ears.

Angus closed his eyes again and continued to play. He needed to finish the song. He needed to try and keep the static away.

When he finished, he gently set down his violin. He looked back to see Davenport rising to his feet, as if coming out of a trance. He shook his head and then stumbled over his words for a moment before making eye contact with Angus.

“D… Davenport.”

As the gnome walked away, Angus couldn't help but wonder if, for the first time, he actually understood what the gnome had said.

_Thank you._

~

Taako stared at the umbra staff.

Kravitz had said he sensed a lich, but … The Red Robe wasn’t up here. And Taako wasn’t a lich.

The Umbra Staff going off on its own had nearly ruined the date, but he couldn’t blame it. He supposed his own magical weapon was picky about anyone coming near its owner.

Except that it had reacted when Kravitz had mentioned liches.

He thought back to seeing the Red Robe in Lucas’ lab.

He had noticed the staff.

Had mentioned … someone.

But his mind wouldn’t let him think any further. It hurt too much.

He went back to their dorm and set the staff down on the couch.

He needed to make a trip to Fantasy Costco. Magnus would be waiting for him.

~

Angus was perceptive. It was what made him such a good detective.

It was why he followed Merle to Neverwinter.

He’d never pictured Merle as a father, but suddenly, everything started to make sense about the dwarven cleric.

He listened, intently, as Merle told him everything. Told him things he was pretty sure neither Taako nor Magnus knew.

It was oddly comforting. He was privy to something no one else was.

Even if Merle hadn’t threatened him, he would never have said anything to anyone.

It was why, when the cart narrowly missed hitting Merle’s children, Angus sprang into action.

He almost missed the flash of red off to the side.

He almost missed the Red Robed Lich that held his arm outstretched, red lightning cracking off of his cloak.

He almost missed when he looked to Merle and nodded.

He did miss, however, the wave of sadness that emanated from the lich who looked after his son.

The lich who was running out of time.

~

Taako sat, watching as Angus practiced Disguise Self to look like him. He still looked like a tiny, child-like version of Taako, but he was getting better at it.

Looking at Angus continued to send pangs of emotion through Taako’s heart. Emotions that he couldn’t place and that were almost frightening to think about.

He cared about this child. Almost as if he was his own.

But he wasn’t of course. And whoever had been this child’s father had been human.

Had been that dead bastard, Barry Bluejeans.

Taako shook his head.

He didn’t know why thinking of Barry hurt so much, but he decided that it had to do with this child. That it was guilt at not saving this child’s father. At leaving him to grow up without him.

Except Barry had been at Glamour Springs. Had taken some of the food.

Maybe Barry had survived? Maybe he had known and had come to Phandalin so that he could covertly tell Taako?

No … That didn’t seem like Barry’s style. Neither did trying to bust Taako.

It didn’t make sense.

Taako wished, for a moment, that Barry was here, watching his son. Maybe he would have trained Angus to be a fighter? No, Angus wasn’t built for that.

And come to think of it, he had never actually seen Barry fight …

“Sir? Are you alright?”

Taako shook himself out of his thoughts and looked down at Angus who had changed his appearance back to normal.

“Sorry, boychik,” Taako smiled sadly. “I was just in thought …”

“Oh …”

They sat in silence for a moment before Angus scooted up next to him.

“Hey, Taako … Um … I know you kind of personalized those macaroons for everyone but … I was wondering … What was that flavor in mine? It was really good but it was like … familiar?”

“Heh,” Taako chuckled. “That’s odd … I actually had a hard time finding the ingredients for yours. I don’t know why, but I wanted to make them like my aunt used to make them … They were our favorite …”

“You and your Aunt’s?”

Taako paused.

_Our …_

“Yeah … Must’ve been my aunt’s favorite too if she made it all the time for us …”

Angus nodded and looked down in thought. Taako found his own thoughts wandering too.

It didn’t make sense. He didn’t remember his aunt particularly liking macaroons, much less the lavender flavored ones he loved but it was the only thing that made sense.

Maybe she had but she had given him so many because she knew he liked them?

He felt a little guilty now. If he had known …

“Sir … I’ve been wondering a lot … Do you know any other Sun Elves?”

Taako smiled, sadly.

“No. I haven’t seen any others really since I was a kid. I didn’t even really grow up with elves after my aunt died. It’s probably why I’ve never really gotten on with other high elves,” he laughed, bitterly. “You’re the first one I’ve actually spent a lot of time around in almost a century.”

Angus giggled.

“I’m only half-elf, sir.”

“Doesn’t matter!” Taako laughed. “Why do you ask?”

“Well … I mean, I was wondering if you might have maybe known … Well, if you had ever seen either of my parents?”

Taako’s heart nearly ripped in half.

“I … I never met them,” Angus started. “Not really … I mean, maybe I saw my dad once but … I only knew my grandfather and … I know that my mom loved me. That she died saving me but … My dad …”

Taako wanted to grab Angus close and tell him. Tell him that he had seen his father.

But then what? Barry hadn’t ever even mentioned a kid.

Would he lie to this kid? Tell him that his father’s last words had been something about the son he was going to return to? Taako lied easily (he thought), but to Angus?

No, he couldn’t lie to him.

And he couldn’t tell him.

He sighed and looked down at the Umbra Staff in his lap, feeling a warmth radiating from it.

“Sorry, kiddo … I … I didn’t meet anyone who could have been your parents in my travels but …” He bit his lip. “If they could see you now, I bet they would be awfully proud. I bet they loved you a whole lot ...”

Angus looked at Taako. He had only sometimes been privy to moments of honesty from the elf and had learned to play them off as nothing. He knew that Taako didn’t like the attention. Didn’t like it when someone pointed out when he actually cared

So he smiled quietly to himself and then snuck a glance at the Umbra Staff.

He could feel the energy now and realized it.

He needed to roll an investigation check on that staff.

~  
Kravitz looked over his clues again. The Umbra Staff that Taako had carried - the staff that had almost blasted him - had rekindled the mystery that he had almost put to rest.

He had been a bit distracted lately and it wasn’t the top priority anymore.

But that staff. It had been with the Sun Elf’s corpse. It had been in the cave.

He couldn’t just take it from Taako and it hadn’t had as strong of a presence, even after it had almost blasted him like before.

And when he had returned to the scene of the crime, the body was gone. All that remained was dust.

He had another option, but it had been such a tedious idea that he had been avoiding doing it.

But the more he thought about it, the more he realized it was his only plan.

He headed into the Sea of Souls to try and find the Elf’s soul.

It wasn’t a common thing to need to do, but he had been an emissary for long enough that he knew how to sift through the souls that were being cleansed. Since she had died ten years before, he should be able to find her relatively close to the top.

He searched for Sun Elves, knowing that there weren’t as many of them in the Sea of Souls to begin with. They lived long lives and they were nowhere near as numerous as their other elven counterparts - especially after the Old Wars that had nearly decimated them.

The more he thought about the Old Wars, the more he mused about this half-elf child. Sun Elves in particular were not known to harbor fond feelings toward humans and yet here was this child that was the product of such a union. And a child who obviously had been loved enough for the mother to care to leave a note for whoever found her and the child.

He came across a few Sun Elf souls, but none felt right. None of them seemed to even know what he was talking about. He knew they hadn’t been in the sea long enough to have forgotten their past life, but this was ridiculous.

If his mother was here, then she would have been speeding to him to hear about her son. To know if he was safe.

He searched for what felt like days as he combed through the souls. He had to find her. He needed to know if she had any leads on the lich.

He was about to give up, realizing that the only other option was asking the countless human souls, when he felt something that was … wrong.

He looked down into the depths to see the lights start to blink out. He had never seen anything like this before. When a soul was ready to be reborn, it would leave as it had come in.

Instead they were just being swallowed up into darkness.

No. Not quite darkness.

There were shimmering bands of color throughout the darkness that was slowly approaching him.

He didn’t know what this was, but he knew he had only one option.

He began to frantically swim up.

~

Carey had taught him how to be sneaky. She hadn’t asked why, probably assuming that it was for detective work.

In a way, it was.

Angus sneaked into Taako’s room while they were training. For some reason, Taako had left the Umbra Staff in the room.

It was too easy.

Angus rifled around, looking for any other clues, when he found a headband.

He picked it up and curiously put it on.

“Taako? Taako, get back here! I swear to God if you die during training …”

“H-hello?” Angus asked. “Who said that? I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to break in! I mean I did but -”

“Wait … Ango? The kid that my b̵̸̧͘r̶̕͘͝͡o̶̢͞͝͡t̛͘͜h̡͜͞e͘҉̵͠͞r̵'̴̸͝s̴̶̡̧̨ been training? Sweet!”

“Sorry ma’am … I … I don’t see you and you’re speaking static.”

“Aw beans,” the voice sighed. “You can’t understand it … Um … So … It’s me … In the Umbra Staff …”

Angus gasped.

“You can talk?”

“Heh, yeah … It took a lot but I can,” she chuckled. “Is Taako ok?”

“Yeah! He’s in training. Don’t know why he didn’t take you but … You know.”

“Yeah,” she chuckled. “So, my name’s L͟҉u̸̸̧̨p̨͘͢͟ and I have been in here for quite some time.”

“Sorry, you were speaking static again …”

“Oh … Ok …” she sighed. “Well … I was hoping that I could get Taako to … It’s ok. I guess we can try this again in a year … It’s not like my son is still alive … I shouldn’t have gone out alone …”

“A son?”

“Yeah … I … I had a son,” she started. “I was alone when I had him and I’m pretty sure he’s … He’s gone …”

“Wow, Miss Umbra Staff … Can I call you that?”

“Sure kid.”

“I just … didn’t know Umbra staffs could have kids!”

“Well, I wasn’t always one … But … Yeah … Gods, you look so familiar,” she pondered. “If I didn’t know better, I would have thought … sorry, I just miss my family.”

“I’m so sorry. I … I never met my mom.”

“Oh …”

“It’s ok! She died, saving me from a murderer! Once I’m done helping the Bureau of Balance, I’m going to go back to trying to solve her murder! Someone said a lich did it!”

Angus felt something in the umbrella. Something sad. The feeling quickly went away.

“Oh geez. Are you sure you’re old enough to be doing that?”

“Yeah! I solved a murder bef- Well, I guess you were there, huh?”

“Heh. Yeah.”

The umbrella felt heavy in Angus’ hands.

“Hey kiddo. No offense, but … It’s getting difficult to project myself out anymore …”

“Oh! Yeah, you must be getting tired …” Angus replied sadly. “Do ...Do you want me to sing you a lullaby? I've always known it so I think my mom sang it to me!”

“Sure kiddo.”

Angus sang softly, the elvish words to a long forgotten lullaby drifting through Lup’s mind. It was strange. She knew this lullaby by heart, but it was impossible for her to understand how he would know it. Her mother sang it to her when she was a baby and she remembered singing it while her son was still in the womb.

Her thoughts became fragmented as she started to drift out of consciousness. She could have sworn she heard her and Barry’s composition being worked into the lullaby.

But it was impossible.

Just wishful thinking.


	19. Year 10 - Wonderland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang goes to Wonderland. Angus cracks the case. Barry forgets.

_Elves have more awareness than humans at an earlier age when they are in the womb. Using the latest technology available, scientists have been able to determine that, unlike humans, Elven fetuses have awareness of the outside world as early as the end of the second quarter of gestation._

_Not enough research has been done on half elf children, but trends seem to point to them having similar awareness as their fully elven counterparts. This is possibly due to the amounts of arcana that are used in creating elven souls in general, elves being comprised mostly of magic, unlike other species._

_-Childcare 101, 3̑ͫ͗͒̓̄͂ͥ̊ͣ̏̽̅͌̄̀̌͊͊͏͏̗̞̥̜̪͍̣̖̖̕r͔̟̝͇͇̰̫̥̫ͫ͌͛̎̑͊ͯ̊̀̆̌͒ͨ̇̂̔̓̕͟͢͞d̿ͬ̔ͪ͌ͭ̄͗̄̂̃҉̡̱̱̪̲͇̙̤̪̜̗͔̗̦͍̤̳͍͇̻͟ ̸͙̗͚̗͇̹͖̝̟͕̜̘̭̦̼͈͉̪̎́̀̔ͩͮ̽̓̈́̀ͥ͗ͣ͑͛͊ͩ̇ͦ̕ͅȨ̥̠͖̫̘͖̖̝̫̬͖̱ͥ͑͂̃ͦ̊̾͛̿̆͗̑̈̐dͯ̈́ͦ͒́̓ͥ͒͑̄̐ͥ̎̔ͦ͏̢̣̻͈̹̤̪͙̤̫͉͟͢͞i̷̙̟̞̠̗̤͖͙̖̖̗̪̜̜͍̟̤ͩ́̉͊͌̃͑ͭ͛̋̀̉ͤͯ́ͧ̅͌̕͜ͅt̀̋̈́̂̎̏ͫ̀͒́̋̎ͣͯ̃͒҉̴̳̙͈͈̭̻͇̹͙̠̼̺̻̣̩̬͜͢ͅḯ̱̬͙̰̜̰̱͉̭̯̫̯͚̓̽͛̔͌̌͜͟͝o̸͍̖͎̳̯͕̙̞̩͓̻̫͛̌̐̓̀͛̓ͬͪ̅ͅn͐̀̂̄̋̀ͬͣ̏̂̔̃̑ͩ̄ͧ̐͑̉҉̗̞͕̙͇̺̭̯̟͕̤̟̜̣̞̕͡͞ͅͅ ͕͎͈̹̬͚̹̩͙̣̭ͫͫͣͩ͘T̵̴͖̥̳̩̜̙̹̝̥͚̼ͣ͛͌̉͑̑͆̂ͫͩ͒̈̎ͦͭͯ̃ó̧̮͈͍̥̰̺̥͚̩̬͚̰͙̝͊̃̐͌̂ͣ͑͊̅́̓̈́̔̍̎͡ͅS̵̖̥̱̲̣̜̘̫̯̣͙̩͋̋ͦ͆̊ͯ̑̅̐͞ͅū̵̷ͮͮͣ͋̈͗̏̂͋̀͐͛̐ͪͧ͜҉̵̘̖͔̱̤n͖̭̗̝̮̜̻̪̫̹̯̱͙͚̱̫̂͊̍̈́̆̂̐ͦ̒͆ͫ̃͋ͯͩ̑̇̓ͪ͘͝ͅ_

 

 

  
Lucretia had often had nightmares of Wonderland.

Nightmares where she never escaped. Where she was forced to give up more and more until there was nothing left.

Nightmares about leaving Cam behind.

Nightmares about what she saw.

They had tormented her with things that she thought no one could remember. Tormented her with what she had done. With Taako’s face, staring at her in horror and confusion after she had taken his sister from him. Taken his whole life from him.

The scorched deck. The speck on the ground that might have been Barry.

The look on Magnus’ face as he realized what Lucretia was doing.

Merle’s confusion and horror as he tried to figure out where he was.

Davenport.

She had done this.

And the Wonderland Liches knew.

Now that she had figured out what had happened to Lup and Barry’s child, a new face plagued her nightmares.

Lup, skeletal and in anguish, staring at her from behind a glass window.

In front of Lucretia were two buttons.

No matter what she did, no matter what she tried, she always pressed forsake in her dreams.

As the days drew closer to the Midsummer festival, to the end of everything, Lucretia tried to keep herself from sleeping.

She needed to stay focused on her goal. She needed to stay focused on saving the world.

After that, she could beg forgiveness, even if she felt she didn’t deserve it.

~

  
Barry hovered outside of the entrance to Wonderland.

His relic did this.

His studies in Necromancy at the end of their century-long journey led to this nightmare.

Led to Lucretia losing twenty years of her life.

Even though he was hurt and betrayed, he couldn’t hate her.

She was scared. She was desperate. Even if what she did was wrong, she was still family.

He sighed. His friends would be here soon. They would be here and if they didn’t trust him, they would die.

And then … Then what?

It wasn’t like they could leave. He didn’t even know where the Starblaster was anymore. He didn’t know if it still existed.

This was it. This was the last world.

And even if it wasn’t, he couldn’t lose Angus. He couldn’t put Lup thsrough that again …

If she even was still around.

Had she been reaped? He couldn’t be sure. That Reaper had to have taken so many souls in the last ten years that he wouldn’t have remembered. What’s another Lich to the Raven Queen?

If this didn’t work, if he couldn’t save Taako, Merle and Magnus, then maybe - maybe it was better if he just went willingly.

~

Lup had tried to laugh it off when Taako had fired a spell with the Umbra Staff between his legs, as if it was sticking out of his rear, but she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of fear.

The sacrifice Taako had made … Bad luck. She couldn’t anticipate what would happen to him. She couldn’t do anything to save him from something as abstract as bad luck.

She waited. She watched.

She felt her energy wane.

She had to hold on so she could protect him. She had to hold on so she could maybe find Barry.

So that she could maybe find their son.

A bolt fell from the ceiling.

_Bad luck._

In an even bigger stroke of bad luck, the Umbra Staff stayed in tact.

~

Magnus watched as Taako returned from the Ethereal plane, releasing the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding.

He wondered now if he could tell him. If he could tell either Taako or Merle.

He needed to, eventually. They had to know that, somehow, he was a Red Robe.

He briefly thought back to refuge. Thought back to the Red Robe that had been there.

Had asked them to trust him.

He wished now that he was here. Whatever the Red Robe was capable of, it had to be better than whatever these evil elves were capable of.

If he trusted him, then maybe he could get them out of there.

After they had retrieved a new travelling companion (yet another thing to talk to Lucretia about after this was over), he felt something in his hand.

Someone communicating to him in Thieves’ Cant.

He wanted to believe that it was the Red Robe.

He was ready to start trusting him.

~

Lup seethed.

She felt so useless. So unable to do anything to help her brother. To help her family.

She fought against the black curtains, trying to find a way to get out. To help them.

Then she felt it in the air.

He was here. He was here and they had no idea.

She hope that they would trust him. That any of them would trust him.

When Taako cast True Sight on Magnus, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Maybe … Maybe they would be able to get out of there after all.

~

Angus looked over all of his clues.

The Red Robes. They couldn’t have been all bad. Taako’s staff was found with the body of one. And the staff listened to Taako and talked to Angus. It wasn’t like the thrall of a relic. It was different.

The Red Robe that had been watching over him. If he had wanted to kill him, he would have. If he had really been responsible for the death of his mother and father then, he wouldn’t have cared.

And his parents couldn’t have been killed by a lich. It didn’t make sense anymore to him.

Why would a lich kill his parents? Even if the lich lost control, what would they have gained?

And the staff had a son …

He looked down at his drawing again, thoughts struggling to come to his mind, fighting through the static.

The static.

He had been inoculated. He’d been inoculated and yet he still heard static.

He needed to talk to Johann.

He took one last look at the drawing he had done. The one of the nightmare he’d had.

What if that wasn’t the murderer?

What if that was his -

_Static._

~

Taako watched as Magnus aged before his eyes. He had tried to be cavalier about the sacrifices up to this point, but there was something extremely upsetting about watching the human he had started to care about grow older.

It’s only ten years … it’s only ten years …

Except for a human, that was so much time.

There was something else in the back of his mind. Something almost screaming at him through the static that was usually there, but he couldn’t figure it out. He couldn’t figure why his heart hurt so much when he looked at his now older human.

This was why he had always kept people at arm’s length. This was why he always closed himself off. If he was aloof, then he didn’t have to worry about caring when they …

Magnus smiled at him, trying to put on a brave face, and Taako had to turn away.

The wrinkles in the corners of his eyes and mouth … The grey hairs.

It was too much.

He needed to close himself off again.

~

It was almost like old times.

He almost deluded himself into thinking that nothing had changed, that nothing had happened.

But so much had changed. So much more than what had already happened in Wonderland.

Every time he looked to Taako to see him cast with the Umbra Staff, it felt like he was watching Lup again. Like he was fighting alongside her again.

He’d tried to signal to Magnus, thankful that both of them now knew thieves’ cant. He needed him to hold on. To wait.

To get ready.

He looked around at the black smoke. This was his relic. He knew how to use it.

He knew how to use all of this necrotic energy.

He started to shape it. He needed to show them what was really up.

He needed to find a way for them to get out.

~

Lup heard the roar and laughter bubbled up from inside of her, though she knew no one could hear her.

When they had been children, Taako used to pretend he was a dinosaur and chase her around the yard. It had all started after their trip to a museum on ancient creatures. For years, Taako would pretend to be “Dupree”, the toy they had shared for a short time before it was lost in the shuffle.

She tried not to think of what the memory was like to him now that she was no longer in it.

She projected her senses out enough to see that something was changing things in the room.

It was Barry. It had to be him. He had to be sending a message.

She felt her heart swell.

She was so close.

~

“I dunno, kiddo. That just doesn’t make sense,” Johann started. “I mean, there’s just this Voidfish here. I can’t think of anything else that could be causing the static.”

“Hmm …” Angus pondered. He didn’t like dead ends. Then he looked over at Johann’s table.

A scroll.

He ambled over to it and looked at it.

“Can … Is it ok if I?”

“Sure kiddo. Show me what you remember,” he chuckled.

Angus looked over the notes.

“E-G-G …” he started.

Then gasped.

“Johann … I … Could this be a code?”

Johann shrugged.

“I don’t know if the Voidfish does that sort of thing, kiddo. The Voidfish just kinda … is …”

Angus looked at the scroll, disheartened.

He couldn’t let on, but he had realized something.

The Director was lying to him.

Lucretia was lying to him.

He made his way out of the Voidfish’s chamber.

He needed to wait for Tres Horny Boys (he would have to ask later what that meant) to return.

They would help him.

They had to.

~

The Animus Bell rang and it felt like it echoed through everyone’s souls. Taako looked over at Magnus, his heart rate quickening.

Bad luck … Bad luck …

A light cast out of his back as he fell, spasmed, and then pulled himself up.

Taako felt his hands shaking as “Magnus” spoke.

Edward had … Magnus …

He looked to Merle as the impostor tried to convince them to try and lure more people. To try and send more people to this hell hole.

“Hey, I’ve got a fuckin’ idea for you!” Taako shouted at the lich who had taken control of his friend’s body.

Who had killed his …

Taako cast Magic Jar and soon, his soul was out of his body. He looked over to see Magnus being pulled away.

Pulled to the Astral Plane.

He flew towards him, his mind racing. He needed to get to him.

He was struck by other feelings. There was something about Magnus dying. Something that was upsetting on a deeper level than just losing his best friend. Something familiar about the helplessness.

Magnus was getting closer and closer to the Astral Plane and Taako pushed harder. He needed to save him. He reached out as Magnus reached towards him.

Their hands clasped together and Taako looked past him.

The Astral Plane … Something was wrong. He could no longer see the sea of souls, the plane having been taken over by inky blackness. He could no longer see …

_Kravitz …_

Taako would have held his breath if he was in his body but instead he looked to Magnus. Their eyes locked and something clicked in Taako’s brain for just a moment before it faded into static.

_Do I …?_

A hand reached out from the oilslick that covered the sea and Taako gripped tighter.

It was Kravitz.

And Taako couldn't do anything.

_I'm sorry …_

He pulled backwards, trying to keep Magnus from being taken away.

_I can't lose you. Not now. Not ever._

A hand grabbed him and Taako looked back to see a spectral version of Merle’s soulwood arm.

He smiled.

As far as he could remember, he had always been alone. Had never had anyone to count on.

But these two chucklefucks?

They were alright.

~

Lup had been waiting for this all day.

She had seen what they did to her brother. To Magnus. To Merle.

And she was fucking pissed.

She couldn’t help in the way she truly wanted. It took too much energy to cast when she was just trying to stay whole.

She watched as Barry entered the fight, creating a wrecking-ball out of the necrotic energy in the room. She smirked and readied herself. If she had to get consumed completely by the staff, she could go down fighting-

Then Taako was knocked out.

She nearly lost her composure then. She couldn’t lose her brother. Not now. Not when she was so close to reuniting with him.

The bright light of Magnus’ chance lance caught her attention as it pierced into the body that Edward had stolen.

Then the lich dropped his vessel.

And Lup and the Umbra Staff wasted no time.

She watched as he was sucked in, clawing at everything he could. Trying to keep himself together.

But it would be no use.

Soon, he was in the curtains, with her.

“Wh-who … Who are you? What is this place?” He asked.

“Are you the one who’s been hurting my brother out there?” Lup growled.

“Am I - Where are we?”

Lup gritted her teeth. She could maybe afford to lose a little bit of control.

“I’m going to fucking kill you now.”

Edward wasn’t ready. He couldn’t possibly be ready as Lup gripped him. Sure, he had not been in the staff for long, had not had much energy sapped from his form …

… But he had hurt her brother - her anchor.

She lost herself in the melee for a moment, just reveling in killing this lich. In completely destroying his form.

This was what she had been worried about. This was the loss of control that she had warded against.

But hurting one of her anchors? Nearly killing her brother?

That was unacceptable.

She threw his destroyed form out of the staff, fully energized, and then transferred the energy to Taako.

He needed it more than she did right now.

She needed to rest.

~

Barry watched as Edward’s form rocketed out of the Umbra Staff.

It was possible but … No … She was still somewhere. She had to be.

He watched the lich disintegrate. Watched Lydia lose her composure.

Watched as Magnus’ body was destroyed.

His heart was heavy with regret. He should have done more. He could have …

He shook it off. He needed to get them to his cave. He needed to get his body.

They needed to get up to the Bureau.

Angus’ voice came over the stone of farspeech and Barry crushed it, instantly filled with regret.

He would apologize to him later, if he could get him to understand.

As he watched Taako, Mannequin Magnus, and Merle rest, he stared down at the coin.

He needed to leave another message for himself. He wanted to believe that the trio could get to Lucretia’s office. That they could stop whatever she was planning. That they could find another way.

But just in case, he conjured another coin and began to speak into it.

~

Taako looked around the cave. He wasn’t sure why, but he was pulled towards a desk that was up against the wall. He looked on the desk at all of the maps and papers, his heart clenching when he saw the circles of black glass.

Then he saw a note and his head began to pound.

_Back soon._

Who was that from? Why did it hurt his head … his heart to look at it?

He looked back as the Red Robe hovered over to the tank of brackish liquid.

As the Red Robe instructed Merle to get him clothes, Taako started to realize something.

He knew that voice.

He knew that voice but he couldn’t place why.

Merle’s laughter pulled his attention away from the tank.

He watched as Merle held up a pair of blue jeans.

_How the fuck …_

Taako looked back to see the tank split open, the stout, human man stumbling out of it.

It was Barry.

And now he could finally be reunited with his son.

And then Barry spoke and something tore at Taako’s heart.

He didn’t know.

He didn’t remember.

He couldn’t bring that up right now.

And he couldn’t let Angus know that his own father didn’t know he existed.


	20. Year 10 - The Reunion Tour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lup sends a message, Angus cracks the case, and Barry has a bittersweet reunion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your support of this fic! We're almost done now!
> 
> (The starting excerpt, much like the one for Cycle 99, is highlight-able text!)

_ “Lucy, this isn't fair! I mean, a human? No offense but without this whole … planar bullshit, Barry would be so dead by now! But he's not and I'm going to have his kid and I cant believe I fucked up so bad Luce! I told him it was just a fling but it wasn't! Not even then! What the fuck do I do? What even are we? What do I even do?” _

_ It was much like the scrolls I had read. The steamy romance novels that were more aggravating than entertaining, but I wanted to help my friend. I wanted her to be happy. I wanted this to work _

_ “Lucretia, she is just … she's everything to me but I don't want to ruin our closeness. I mean,I don’t just love her because we're having a kid. I …I've known her over forty-five years, had all this borrowed time and now I can't imagine life without her.” _

_ And I wrote it down. If we ever get back to our home, then everyone will learn about this tragic romance. This romance that would have been doomed on our home world because of the cruel passage of time. _

_ I selfishly hope they will have more time. _

_ \- Excerpt from Lucretia’s Journals, cycle 45 _

 

Lup watched Barry climb out of the tank and her heart nearly exploded. It had been so long since she had seen him. So long since she had felt him.

And she was trapped in this damn umbrella.

Barry listened, intently to the instructions from the coin, his expression softening as his former self instructed him.

“... You feel a dull weight in your chest. It’s a weight of a love that defined and redeemed you but you’ve forgotten who that weight belongs to …”

He’d done this. He’d done this countless times. Had to relive each time …

It was too much. She didn’t want to watch this, but she had to.

This Barry was different. This was the Barry before joining the IPRE. The Barry that had been tormented in school. The Barry who had to become scrappy. Who had to learn as much as he could and stayed in university until he was in his forties because he couldn’t find a place to fit in.

The Barry that existed before he became her Barry.

_Lucretia … What did you do?_

Then Taako started to rant. Started to say that he couldn’t trust anyone.

Which … Would absolutely not do.

She whispered to him. Trying to get his attention as he gave in to the ideas that were being planned. As he coaxed Barry into his Pocket Spa.

_“Trust Barry … Love Barry …”_

She realized, after several repetitions, that he was gripping the staff, as if he had heard her voice.

“Taako! It’s … It’s me! It’s your sister! It’s me … _Trust Barry …_ ”

It was too much energy. Too much work.

She stopped, abruptly, feeling the strength almost leave her completely. She was fading. She had been using too much energy and the staff was going wild, consuming it.

If she wasn't careful, there wouldn't be anything left.

If they left this world, would she even reset?

She couldn't think about that right now.

She had to rest. She had to hope.

~

Angus did not believe them for a second.

Magnus was not dead. He couldn’t be dead.

It wasn’t that he was denying what they had said. He just knew, just from watching how the mannequin walked, that Tres Horny Boys were not being completely honest.

He now had several questions.

What was the Bureau hiding?

What were Merle and Taako hiding?

What really happened to Magnus?

What really happened to his mother?

He had already discreetly marked the sphere with a piece of chalk. He had a little bit of time before the Animus Bell was “destroyed” so he decided to observe Merle and Taako for a little while.

He watched from afar as Taako, Merle, and their “mannequin” went to the Fantasy Costco. Angus had already been inside, having snuck around behind Garfield, and had seen the vat with the body growing inside. He hadn’t asked Garfield why it was there, but as he watched the trio walk in, he started to hypothesize.

Did they know about the vat? No, they couldn’t have. They hadn’t been to the back offices.

Why would they be going into Fantasy Costco anyway? The relics had all been reclaimed, supposedly (and Angus had his suspicions about that), so there was no need for any more adventures.

He made his way to the relic disposal chamber once again. He knew that he only had moments before Lucretia arrived to dispose of the relic. He hid himself and waited.

He watched as the sphere was taken up. Watched as the relic was “destroyed”

Watched as an unmarked sphere returned in its place.

Bingo.

He needed to find Taako and Merle. He trusted them the most now.

He wished he could still trust The Director.

~

Barry sat in the pocket spa. There was something comforting but also unnerving about being in this tiny, enclosed space.

It was strange, but it had also been nice being around Merle and Taako. The mannequin that called himself “Magnus” was upsetting, but it felt like it was upsetting on a deeper level than just on a “this is a sentient mannequin” level.

He sighed and nibbled on his cucumber sandwich. He wanted to know where he was, what was going on …

He heard a sound in his pocket. He dug into it to feel a second coin. He raised an eyebrow as he listened to it crackle to life.

“Barry,” he heard his voice say. “You … You’ve gotta make it this time. This is the only chance you have. And if they try to leave and you haven’t had the V̨͏̵o̶̧͏i̧̢̕͟͡d̶̴̨̕͢f̛͘i͜͢s̵̢̡͟͞h̨͘ ̡̢͞ic͝͞͝h̶̕͡͝o͜r̢͏ then you can’t let them go. You can’t let them leave him, Barry. You can’t. It will destroy … Just … Please follow all of my instructions, even if Taako, Magnus, and Merle don’t …”

Barry listened intently, feeling that weight again. Who was the coin talking about? Who was he leaving? He didn’t want to leave anyone. Even though he’d needed to put on a tough exterior, he never imagined abandoning anyone.

The pocket spa opened and he looked up to see Taako’s face in the ceiling.

“Uh …” Barry started.

“Barry?”

“Yeah, yeah can I uh … get out of here? It’s a li’l cramped,” he asked.

“No! What are we looking for?”

Barry tried to think but it dissolved into static.

He slammed his eyes shut.

“Uh … I have no idea. I’m - This - I …”

The pocket spa slammed shut and Barry was alone again.

He sighed and returned to his cucumber sandwich.

“Asshole,” he muttered.

He heard the first coin crackle to life outside, his own voice giving out advice.

Somehow, he felt like the coin that he had discovered was just as important.

~

She was a swirl of emotions.

She was losing energy, but she needed to try and stay together.

If they were able to leave, then would she even be pulled out of this plane with them? Would there be anything left of her soul after this?

She was so tired from just trying to exist. She needed to rest.

But as she felt her surroundings continue to shift and change and heard Barry’s voice through the coin, she knew she had to hold on.

If the Hunger arrived before they could leave, Taako would need her.

It could be one last thing she did for her brother.

~

“I don’t know, but I feel like I trust you.”

Those words would bounce around in Taako’s mind for a long time. Even though he had made a big deal of not trusting anyone anymore, this man … this Red Robe who apparently forgot everything, trusted him.

He therefore couldn’t hold it against Lich Barry or Pocket Barry when the trap was completely wrong.

When the alarm had almost sounded, had almost ended their adventure, he learned he could trust someone else.

He saw the dome of magic over the alarm bell, turned, and saw his pupil.

“Hell yeah! Nice magic, little man!” He cheered.

His relief turned to panic as he saw the determined expression on Angus’ face.

“Start talking! I - I need to know what you know …”

~

Barry felt a tingle. And then the realization that he could not hide any longer. He wasn’t sure what was compelling him, but he yelled as loudly as he could.

“Hey! I’m hiding in this guy’s bag and I’m getting kinda claustrophobic and also I’m not supposed to be up here!”

He started to climb out of the spa, out of Taako’s bag -

And then he saw the boy.

His heart nearly ripped in half, and he couldn’t tell why. He didn’t understand why it hurt so much to look at this child.

This child who looked almost like he did.

He didn’t listen as Taako spoke. As Taako told everything to this boy. His brain wouldn’t let him. It was just trying to make sense of the child who stood in front of him.

Every time he tried to make sense of it, the words just didn’t make sense.

This child looked so much like he did.

Was he his s̶o̢̢̢͠҉n̢͞҉̕?

But the child was a half-elf.

Had he been in love with an elf? Was that who the weight belonged to?

Where was his partner?

~

Angus was watching Barry intently.

This was the man who the Red Robe had possessed. This was the man he had met as a child.

And yet he was here again.

And he still was going by Barry. Still looked so familiar.

It didn’t make sense until Taako had talked about Magnus. About Magnus’ soul being taken out and put into a mannequin.

About his body being destroyed.

About him being a Red Robe.

As he looked at Barry, and then at Taako, his mind tried to make sense of everything.

The nightmares he’d had about the Red Robe. They had been so fuzzy, so blurry, but there was something about that face that now, looking at Taako, seemed familiar.

But Taako didn’t have any family. There was literally no record of anyone related to Taako. No Sun Elves named U’tot’im’t’cuk or Tostaada. No elves with the last name of Taaco or Frum’Teevee or Lastname or any of the aliases that Taako had gone by.

Nothing.

The thought “My mother is a Red Robe” kept trying to form, but each time it did, it went away. The thought “Barry Bluejeans really is my father” wouldn’t stick.

He needed to get a grip on it.

He needed to get past that door.

When Taako threw Hole Thrower at the door, Angus peered inside to see a small tank inside the room.

The coin crackled to life, the instructions being interrupted by static, bright lights, and the screaming of the alarm.

Taako grabbed a flask and dipped it into the tank and drank a little before handing it to Merle and then to Angus.

As Angus drank, he looked over to the tank to see a smaller Voidfish.

A baby.

He looked over at Barry who had dipped his own canteen in. Looked around as everyone suddenly remembered.

And then he felt the mild headache.

His mother. His mother had been a Red Robe.

The song he had heard. It was one she sang to him before he was born. It was one she sang as she …

As she died …

As she died, left her body, and then vanished.

His mother was gone …

And his father … Even now, looking at Barry, there were no grand secrets revealed about his father.

He looked around the room at Taako, Merle, and Barry.

Perhaps, they were good enough.

His eyes locked with Barry’s as the man regained his composure, just enough to coach everyone through remembering.

“... Take it slow, I’m begging you. You gotta take it slow …”

Other than the revelation that his mother was a Red Robe and that there was a baby voidfish, Angus didn’t understand. His head only hurt a little, but it wasn’t like much had been lost.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! I just see this Voidfish! This cute Voidfish …” he started.

He couldn’t tell them. He didn’t want this mystery to have been solved like this.

He’d held out hope for so long.

He looked up at Barry whose face had nearly crumpled with a flash of grief.

Then Lucretia appeared and began to explain. And as she explained, he heard the name again.

_Lup …_

He could see Barry and Taako nearly crumble as Lucretia apologized for …. For what?

“I’m so sorry Taako, Barry … There was nothing I could do.”

He looked between the two men. Barry’s hand went to his mouth as he seemed to realize the loss. Taako was shaking with a rage he had never seen before.

And then Davenport …

Davenport drank from the flask and then spoke.

“Lucretia? What have you done?”


	21. Year 10 - The Day of Story and Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The apocalypse begins. A family is reunited. The universe learns of their story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost done! Just one chapter after this one! Thank you all again so much! I am so glad you have been enjoying this fic!

_They had gone off to an abandoned house we had found while looking for the Light. They said they wanted to spend the day there. I didn’t ask why and I didn’t ask for details, but when I was exploring later, I found the house and found what had happened._

_The house was no longer as run down as it had been and it looked as if it had been lived in. As if they had made it their own home._

_I could still smell the sweet smells of the cakes and other food Lup had cooked in there and I could see the splotches of paint where she and Barry must have had a playful paint fight while trying to redecorate a room._

_And I realized what they were doing. They were trying to have one day of normalcy._

_It wasn’t until the end of the cycle that I knew why._

  
_\- Lucretica’s Journals, Cycle 83._

 

She was gone.

His sister. His sister had been gone and he hadn’t looked for her and when he found her …

No … This couldn’t be true. She had to still exist somewhere. She was a fucking lich!

And his niece or nephew? Were they dead now? Because of Lucretia?

Taako aimed the Umbra Staff at Lucretia. He didn’t care now. He couldn’t forgive this. Couldn’t forgive the loss of his sister. Of his family.

“Ten …” He started.

Lucretia didn’t move. She didn’t move out of the way. It was like she was accepting this.

It only served to make him angrier.

“Nine …”

He could see Magnus move out of the corner of his eye.

Magnus, who he had once confided in. Once trusted almost as much as his sister.

Once loved almost as deeply as …

That had been taken away from him. From both of them.

He wasn’t sure what would have been better. For him to know now that he had lost his sister. His family. His … everything …

Or for him to have never known.

Barry watched Lucretia and realized.

She was forming the barrier. She was going to sever the bonds of this world.

It wouldn’t just starve out The Hunger. It would destroy everything.

He pleaded with her but heard something that made his heart rip in half.

“You know, honestly ... do whatever you want. I don’t care anymore.”

Angus looked to Taako. He’d never seen him like this. So dejected. So broken. He wanted to go over to him, to talk to him-

“This plan - It didn’t work, so we just leave here and we try again. We …” Davenport started,

Angus looked up as Davenport turned to Barry and Taako.

“Barry, Taako … If we leave, then Lup comes back.”

The perceptive little boy did not miss the horrified expression on Barry’s face. The horrified expression that matched his own.

He didn’t want to be left alone here. He didn’t want this … This Hunger to destroy him.

“Sirs … Please don’t … Please don’t go! Don’t leave us to this!”

Barry watched his son plead.

_He doesn’t know …_

He couldn’t let Davenport do this. He couldn’t leave Angus. Not after everything they had tried.

They could fight. They could try and do … something. He’d find Lup after. He would keep looking. He just couldn’t lose Angus too.

Not when he saw her in his eyes …

~

She waited. She waited for her chance. She needed to get out of this umbrella. It was taking so much of her strength …

She heard Taako give up and she railed against the curtains. She needed to get out. She needed him to know she was here. She had always been here, with him.

“... You found her! Maybe not how you expected to but when you weren’t looking, you found her! That’s how strong your connection is …”

Magnus … She could always count on him for her brother. If this really was the end, then at least …

_No._

She needed to try to get out. She couldn’t leave them.

She could feel sadness from Barry’s soul as she heard Davenport talk about leaving. Why was Barry so saddened by this? Why was he …

Unless … Had he found their son?

She heard the battle begin and waited.

She winced, hearing the cry of pain from the little boy. It hurt her heart to hear him cry out, but she needed to stay focused.

She felt the Umbra Staff leave Taako’s hand and for a moment, worried for him.

Then she felt that familiar feeling.

Angus had picked her up and it was almost like when Taako had held her. It was such a familiar, warm feeling that she was alright with it.

She trusted him, implicitly.

She could hear him, faintly.

This was her chance. She could send a signal now.

She didn’t know if he knew Fireball but at this point, she didn’t care. She needed to let them know she was there. She needed to try this one, final time.

As the spell cooled down, she realized she had been more energized than before. More ready to continue her fight.

Then Taako broke the staff.

She didn’t realize what she was, who she was right away. She was just pure, arcane energy. It took her a moment, caught up in the flames, to remember who she was.

_You’re Lup. That is your family._

_You’re going to kick some ass._

She unleashed a decade’s worth of anger and pain into the Hunger as she soared up one of the tendrils and let loose spell after spell.

She was pure magic. She didn’t need to worry about spell slots.

She cleared the room and then landed in front of Taako. She could see her family. Her brother. Her boyfriend …

The little boy …

She had so much to say. So much to ask …

She looked to her sweet, beloved twin brother and then remembered -

_“You’re dating the Grim Reaper?!”_

~

Angus watched as Lup swirled around her brother, the pair of elves teasing each other in their joyous reunion. He wished he could see more definition on her. More of … anything. Anything that might answer his questions.

Even in her spectral form, she wore a Red Robe.

And she was Taako’s sister.

She was a Sun Elf …

His jaw dropped. There was no way …

Barry ran to Lup and Angus could barely hear what he said as he watched them.

_Mom? Dad?_

He watched the reunion of the crew in awe. Lup just forgave Lucretia. Moved in to try and comfort her, even though her spectral form couldn’t interact with her properly.

And then Lucretia’s bubble went opaque and she disappeared.

Suddenly, Davenport was delegating orders and everything was happening too fast.

Then Lup ( _Mom?_ ) hovered over to him.

“Sorry about the cookies, little dude. I’m - I’m sure they were delicious …”

Angus stared after her as she hovered away. Barry passed by and gave Angus a fond smile.

He wanted to go after them, but Davenport had told him to stay with him. To help him figure out where Lucretia was.

He only vaguely listened as he tried to piece everything together. Lup had to be his mom. She was the only other Red Robe who was an elf.

And with how Barry had reacted to him, he had to be his dad.

And Lucretia robbing Barry of his memories.

He still didn’t trust her. He couldn’t. Not after all of this.

And if Davenport decided to take them away then what would become of him? Would he never see his family again?

He followed Davenport as he made his way through the Moon Base. He kept trying to think. Trying to figure things out but his mind kept trying to pick apart that lifelong mystery he had been trying to solve.

“So, kid … You uh ...You ok?” Davenport asked as they slowed down.

“Y-yeah …” he started. “Just … thinking …”

Davenport looked at him with a small smile before realization dawned on him.

“Oh … Oh god …” Davenport gasped. “Oh Angus … I’m … I’m so sorry …”

“Yeah …” he whispered.

“This … This isn’t fair, kiddo. You’ve been … God … Angus, I don’t know what else we can do.”

“It’s … It’s ok, sir … Maybe if you do end up leaving and we somehow survive here then … I dunno, maybe you guys can come back? Visit me?”

_Bring me home?_

Davenport looked down at his feet.

“It’s not that simple, kiddo … It’s -”

Suddenly, a flash of blue light and a flash of green light passed over them and Angus was hit with a century’s worth of memories. Of information.

The Voidfishes’ songs carried through.

Suddenly, he knew the story of his parents. Of the century of waiting, dying, and resetting.

Of his mother’s last message to her friends.

He looked up at Davenport when the world stopped spinning.

“Oh …” he started.

“Kiddo … Again, I’m so sorry.”

Angus sighed.

“No … It’s … It’s ok. If you have to leave then, well … Maybe there will be another world and … And we can start again. Maybe my mom will actually get to hold me and my dad won’t have to search for me …”

Angus continued ahead as Davenport stared after him. The gnome didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to do this to Angus or to Barry or to Lup …

But there wasn’t any other choice.

~

Kravitz had heard the story. Had heard the song.

Suddenly, he felt really, really bad about almost reaping Barry.

Angus wasn’t the son of an elf who was killed by a lich.

He was the son of a pair of liches.

One of said liches was also related to his … boyfriend? He wasn’t even sure where he stood with Taako now.

Now that he remembered his time with Magnus ...

He still relished in the moments he’d had with Taako. He’d still kissed him on the circle of glass the wizard had transmuted, still loved him, regardless of what the Wonderland Liches did to him (which, with what Lup had done to one of them, he might have a job offer lined up).

But he wasn’t sure how long that would be reciprocated.

~

Lup had done a lot of thinking.

This little boy, she wanted him to be her son. She wanted it to be so easy. So simple.

It was probably why she had been so easily distracted from the task she and Barry had been sent on.

It was definitely why Lucas was nearing the top of her “I hate this guy” list after he announced he knew where the Starblaster was.

Lucas led them all to the Starblaster and Lup looked from Barry to Davenport.

“We … we need to go,” Davenport started.

Lup looked to the little boy who nodded with acceptance.

This couldn’t be her son. She couldn’t do this to him if he was.

He wouldn’t accept this if he was …

_Right?_

Then, Taako found a third option.

Lup had never been more proud of her brother. Of his transmutation abilities, of his cooking …

Of his quick thinking.

As the plan to cast the barrier around the Hunger unfolded, she looked back at the world. At the assault on Neverwinter.

At Angus.

She looked to Barry who nodded in agreement.

“I think we’re going to stay behind,” Lup started. “I know it sounds shitty but … you five are going to save the world and we need to make sure there’s a world left to be saved.”

She tried not to look at Taako as he ran to her.

“I’m not going to lose you again?”

Lup hugged him close and Taako could almost feel it.

“Never again. Please don’t die.”

Barry hung back with Angus who looked up at him.

“Are you ...?”

“Yeah,” Barry chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry it took us so long …”

“It’s ok,” Angus smiled. “Mom was kind of stuck in an umbrella.”

“Yeah … And I had swiss cheese for a brain,” Barry laughed.

“Does she know?” Angus asked.

“I’m not sure. I think she’s still processing a lot …” Barry sighed as he watched her hover over. “She’s in battle mode and she can get pretty hyper focused.”

Angus chuckled.

That was where he got that from, he supposed.

~

Lup felt a need to protect Angus, _just in case_.

She felt a need to show off for the boy, _just in case_.

She wanted to just cast a wall of fire around him to keep the Hunger away from him … _Just in case._

The fear of losing him was cast aside when Angus cast a scorching ray at a clustered group of the Hunger’s soldiers before quickly spinning around and casting again at one that was behind Barry.

Even if he wasn’t her son, she was totally adopting him when the battle was over.

Angus tried to impress Lup. He wanted to impress her and show her what Taako had showed her. What he had studied.

The small amount of things that Johann had showed him.

On occasion, he would look to Barry who would simply smile and give him a thumbs up.

He found himself imagining what it would have been like if he had been raised by them. If the relic wars had never happened. If Lucretia had never wiped everyone’s memories. If Lup had never been trapped in the umbrella.

Would he have learned magic even sooner? Would Taako have been the fun uncle (and Merle the weird uncle or grandpa)?. Would he have had Barry there to have his back even more than he already had been (albeit as a ghost)?

He couldn’t think of this too much He needed to focus. He needed to make sure that he survived.

That they won.

A thought came to him for a moment, but he quickly pushed it away.

If this didn’t work, if putting up the barrier around the Hunger failed …

Then on the next world maybe he would have that.

~

There was a lull in the battle. A short respite from fighting.

Lup hovered over to Angus who was patching up a cut on his leg. She felt her heart break at the sight but she couldn’t do much to help him now.

If only she’d had a body still …

“Hey kiddo, you holding up ok?” She asked.

“Yeah!” Angus smiled. “It’s not the worst thing ever. I was on a murder case once where I broke an arm! This is nothing!”

A murder case …

Her … son? He really had been a detective. He really had taken on murder cases …

“So … When I was in the Umbra Staff, you had sung a song …” she started.

“Yeah …” Angus started.

“Can you sing it real quick?” Lup smiled. “It might give us some inspiration.”

Angus smiled, ears perked up. He jumped up and then started to sing in Elvish. Lup listened, feeling invigorated as the child sang.

This was her boy.

This was truly her boy.

And just like his father, the little guy was multi-classed, even if Barry hadn’t figured out the whole Bard thing.

Angus looked over to see Lup’s form nearly glowing. He could almost feel her smile

“Angus … Thank you,” she whispered. “If I could, I would hug you.”

“Thanks,” he smiled. “I uh … I don’t know if I should ask now or not but when the Voidfish were singing … Am … Are you my mom?”

Lup hovered close to him.

“I mean, I had these nightmares and I had all of these memories that were all static until the Voidfish and … And you and Taako are twins and Barry and I look alike and …”

He felt a tingle as Lup tried to hug him. Tears sprang to his eyes.

“I … I kept hoping it was you. I kept hoping we would find you,” Lup wept.

Angus wanted to hold onto his mom now more than ever.

He wondered if there was any way that he would be able to.

Barry watched Angus and Lup from afar. He knew that eventually she would realize it, would accept it.

He wondered how the others would take it. He hoped Taako would be alright with sharing “his boy”. He’d already seen how possessive he had been of the boy around Magnus.

He chuckled.

It had been a while since he had seen a Lup and Taako squabble. It would be just like old times.

~

The battle raged on, Lup being even more protective of Angus than she had been previously (if that was even possible). She unleashed herself a few times, sparking and burning giant columns that came down from the Hunger before composing herself. She would come back down and check on Angus before darting ahead to distract a battalion.

She needed to keep as many people alive as possible.

She had already been responsible for thousands of deaths. She wouldn’t let this world down.

She saw Barry, surrounded, and dove down. Even though she knew he could become a lich, she didn’t want to see him die.

She cast at the surrounding army, backed up against her boyfriend, as the darkness advanced.

Then suddenly, the shadows were bathed in light.

She looked around as the armies disappeared. She watched as her friends, her family was returned to her.

“We met God!” Merle began.

As the crew reunited, Lup embraced Barry as much as she was able to before returning to the rest of her family, trying to hug each of them. Angus ran over to them.

“Is it over sirs? Did we win?”

“You know what, little man?” Taako smiled, ruffling his hair. “We did.”

Magnus lifted the boy and Lup tried not to show her jealousy at not being able to lift up her son.

“Let them know, kiddo,” Magnus smiled.

“Hey everyone!” Angus chirped. “Johann was right! We won!”

As cheers went up through the survivors, Magnus set him down and ruffled his hair. Angus ran back over to Lup and Barry and hugged the two of them, as best he could.

“It’s great seeing my boy so close with my sister and Barold,” Taako smiled. “I wish we could’ve found her kid …”

Magnus and Merle looked to each other as Davenport pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Uh … Taako?” Magnus started. “I know that you kinda had swiss cheese for brains but …”

Taako didn’t listen, walking over to his sister and Barry.

“So Koko,” Lup smiled, “It’s him … This is my son!”

“Um … I saw him first,” Taako started. “I already won the custody fight with Mags.”

“No … I mean, this is my actual son.”

Taako looked between Lup and Barry, his ears slowly lowering.

“Oh … dip …”


	22. After the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're all caught up now.
> 
> Angus reconnects. Lup gets her body back. Taako has two hands.
> 
> They all live happily every after.

_Dearest Angus Bluejeans-Mcdonald,_

_Thank you for your wonderful letter, however I must return the admiration as I have become quite the fan of you and your family! Your work as a detective is, of course, admirable and would make Caleb Cleveland very proud. The story of your family and how they fought for a century is amazing, of course, but your story is brilliant as well._

_Would you mind if I adapted some of the stories of your cases into the next few Caleb Cleveland novels? We can work out the details later, perhaps over tea with you and your family?_

_Sincerely,_  
_D. M. Gryphon_

  
The first weeks were a whirlwind for Angus.

Rebuilding had to be done on all of Faerun, but people had put aside their differences to work together. Angus had seen elves, orcs, humans … all of them working together. It was as if the principles of the Bureau of Balance (now the Bureau of Benevolence) had infected the world, at least for a little bit.

His family, his giant, extended family, was helping. Was making sure that the world they had saved stayed that way.

And they were also starting to split apart.

Not in a negative way. Not really. It was just odd for Angus to see Merle suddenly deciding to live on the beach or Magnus returning to Raven’s Roost.

Lucretia stayed on the moon and Davenport … well, he couldn’t stay put. Not anymore.

Angus was relieved when Lup and Barry insisted that Taako live with them. It was at least a little bit of normalcy for the boy. Their home in Neverwinter was still being completed so they stayed in housing that Artemis Sterling had set aside for them. It was nice, even if it was temporary.

He didn’t know what he would have done if Taako had turned them down (though, having only truly known his mother for a little while, Angus was pretty sure that that would have been impossible). He was happy though. He still had some semblance of family. Something that was stable.

Most mornings, he was awakened by his mother’s spectral form hovering nearby, the lich smiling (he thought) as she greeted him and told him that breakfast was ready. Some mornings, he would find himself sitting between Barry and Taako, Taako discussing his plans for a proper school while Barry simply hummed into his coffee. Sometimes, Taako and Lup would squabble over something mundane, the argument being more entertaining than anything else.

And some days, Angus would follow his mom to the basement of their temporary home as she hovered in front of the glowing green tank that was growing her new body. She would sometimes notice him and try to ruffle his hair in a comforting way.

Angus was excited and nervous.

~

Lup missed sleep.

She hovered near Barry, watching as he slept, and sighed. She wasn’t sure how many more months it would be but she was getting antsy.

Back when she had known that they would just reset in a year, she could easily pass the time as Barry slept if she was a lich for a cycle while Barry was still corporeal.

But now, knowing that this was it, it made the months tick by horribly slowly.

She had missed sleeping in Barry’s arms, had missed eating, had missed so much.

And in realizing what she missed about being alive, she realized just how much she had actually missed.

She’d missed Taako, missed being there for him when he had been wandering Faerun alone. Had missed getting her revenge on Sazed (prison was too good for him). She had missed helping Magnus, meeting his wife (though now with her new job, she probably could). She had missed Barry and felt absolutely gutted that she couldn’t have been alongside him during that decade alone.

She missed so many firsts with her son.

First words, first steps … First case.

She regretted it but at the same time, this was so much better. It would not have been fair to Angus to have him have to go through everything again. To have to wait to be born. To have to wait to exist.

She left her and Barry’s room and hovered down the hallway. She drifted into Taako’s room where he was sound asleep, plans and blueprints underneath him. She wished she could tuck him in. He would be sore in the morning from the position he was sleeping in.

Kravitz needed to move in. As uncomfortable as living with a reaper while she was a lich was, he was good for Taako. He’d been such a positive influence on him. He’d brought him almost back to being the Taako that Lup remembered.

She smiled and drifted out, making her way to Angus’ room.

She paused at the doorway, looking at the boy as he gripped his sheets tightly, his eyes screwed shut and his ears pressed flat against his head.

A nightmare. He was having a nightmare.

She settled down next to him and gently stroked his hair, as much as she could, and sang to him, hoping to calm him down. She watched his breathing slow and his eyes relax and smiled.

She was about to leave when she heard his tiny voice.

“Mom?” he asked.

She drifted over to him.

“Hey Ango … Are you alright? You were having a nightmare …”

“Yeah … I … I had them a lot,” he started. “They were mostly abstract which … I guess makes sense because of that century but …”

He sniffled and looked up at her.

“You were gone,” he started. “Taako broke the Umbra Staff and nothing came out and then the Hunger took him and took Barry and the Davenport left and … And you were gone …”

Lup instinctively wrapped herself around him, channeling as much energy as she could just so she could hold her son as he cried. It broke her heart to be unable to do more for him.

“Th-thanks mom,” he started. “I … I’m glad that you’re here … even if it took so long …”

Lup smiled and kissed his forehead.

“I’m glad too, Ango … We … we waited so long and you are everything we ever wanted.”

They sat there together until the sun rose, Angus calming down enough that he could start to doze.

~

Merle and Magnus had both come to visit, Magnus offering to help build the Taako-Lup-Bluejeans house (and really, they didn’t trust anyone else to do it after the last foreman quit). Merle sat, watching Magnus work, when he heard a quiet voice behind him.

“Erm … hello sir … Uncle? I guess?”

Merle paled.

He had been dreading this moment for weeks now. The moment he had realized who Angus was, he had decided that maybe he should try to avoid being around the twins. He knew that Lup had seen how he had treated her child and had realized that there was probably some resentment there. He’d felt so much regret because he had once been so excited and now …

“Oh, uh … Hey, Angus …” He started. “Sorry about all .. all of that. I kinda wasn’t myself,” he chuckled, nervously.

“Oh, it’s ok, sir,” Angus started. “I mean, I don’t know why you were like that but I just sort of figured … You know … Here comes this kid and everyone’s going to pay attention to that kid and …”

“God, you’re perceptive,” Merle laughed. “You must get that from your dad.”

Angus laughed nervously.

“I’m just … God, please don’t tell your mom that I threatened to kill you,” he started. “‘Cause you saw what she did to the Hunger. I don’t get to reset this time if she blasts me.”

“Oh, I’m sure she understands,” Angus laughed. “In fact … I kind of wanted to talk to you about that …”

Merle sighed and sat up a little straighter.

“Kid … I’m really sorry-”

“Like I said, it’s ok. I understand. In fact … I kind of … I don’t want things to really change,” Angus started. “Like, there was a whole dynamic and honestly, I got used to it? Like … I knew you didn’t hate me and … I guess I thought it was just done out of love?”

Merle chuckled.

“Well, at the time, I was threatened,” Merle laughed. “You know, threatened by a ten year old because you are actually competent and I … Well, for ten years I was a pretty shitty cleric and here comes this half elf kid who’s good at everything he does and well … I guess I was a bit of an ass.”

“Yeah,” Angus started. “But it’s ok. And if you did suddenly start acting like you cared about me, then everyone would think my mom did threaten you,” he laughed. “So … I guess it can be our secret that you actually care?”

Merle laughed.

“Sure kiddo.”

~

Magnus watched Taako and Kravitz and tried to not let the jealousy sting him.

He’d had Julia. He’d had someone who he loved so deeply but there was still that tug in his heart when he saw Taako smile. Saw him holding Kravitz’ hand.

Saw them kiss.

He knew, of course, that their relationship on the Starblaster had never actually been defined. Had never been anything permanent.

But he could wish.

He was about to leave for the evening when Kravitz approached him. Magnus tensed up, knowing that Kravtiz knew. He knew everything that had happened, knew of Taako’s relationship with him …

And he was the fucking Grim Reaper.

“Hey, uh … So, I wanted to talk with you,” Kravitz started. “I … God, I know that you and Taako had a history and … I don’t want to come between it,” he continued. “I know that Taako has been nervous too and … I’m sorry. If you two decide that you want to start over, it’s alright. I won’t be hurt.”

Magnus froze. He hadn’t expected this at all.

“Kravitz … it’s alright. You and Taako, you have a history now too and if Taako’s happy, then I’m happy. I got my chance at love on this world and it would be selfish of me to-”

The wrapping of a hand around his waist and the sudden intrusion of the elf in question interrupted the pair.

“My ears were burning,” Taako grinned, his arms wrapped around both men’s waists. “Were you two discussing me?”

“Erm …” Kravitz started, nervously.

“Well, I’ve been thinking about it and there’s honestly more than enough Taako to go around,” he purred “And you two are literally the only people I would even be ok being this close to so I bet we could make this work,” he grinned between the two.

Magnus looked at Kravitz for any sort of protestations. To be honest, this had been the best option but …

“Come on, you two,” Taako grinned, taking them both by the hand and into their temporary home. “Taako’s got two hands.”

~

Lup had hovered over Taako as he traced the last few runes. She had tried to tell him it was alright, that she could wait for him to do the transmutation needed to make her comfortable in her own skin again after she came out, but Taako insisted.

“Only the best for my sister.”

She smiled, watching him cast the spell as her body changed. She would be able to be corporeal again soon. Able to touch and hold people again.

The excitement was nearly electrifying. She knew, of course, that as soon as she had her body, she would need to get ready to start work for the Raven Queen, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t wait any longer.

It was only a few days later, everyone gathered around to greet her, and Lup was nearly crackling with excitement.

“Now, be careful that you don’t trip,” Barry chuckled. “And I have a robe ready for you when you come out.”

“Thanks, Bare-bear,” she smiled, pressing her spectral form to him one more time before hovering into the tank.

Her family watched, holding a collective breath, as she disappeared into her body. The tank split open and Lup staggered out, the brackish liquid spilling out around her, pressing her long, brown hair to her face. Barry quickly brought the Robe to her and helped her drape it around herself. She looked up at Barry and smiled.

“I forgot how good I look,” she smiled.

Barry chuckled.

“I’m about to smooch your fucking face, babe,” she grinned, pulling him in for a kiss.

When she pulled away, she looked over at the crew, her family, and looked for Angus. The little boy was staring at her, mouth agape. Barry helped Lup over to him and she stooped down to her knees and pulled Angus in close.

“I’ve wanted to do this for over ten years,” she whispered.

“Me too,” Angus replied, his voice cracking.

The rest of the day, Lup was near her boyfriend and her son as much as possible, enjoying actually being able to hold them, to actually be able to comfort Angus when he needed reassurance. It was everything she had wanted for ten years.

She and Barry retired early that night, needing to catch up on ten years and six months of waiting. It was slow and clumsy at points, but they didn’t care. They finally had this closeness, this intimacy once again. As they fell asleep later in the night, Barry held onto Lup as if she would disappear if he looked away, kissing the top of her head and the tips of her ears as she purred into his chest, pressing herself as close to him as possible.

~

It had been a year since the day of Story and Song. A year since everyone remembered.

Angus had been at school (Lucas’ school, much to Taako’s chagrin), but he still sent letters. And Lup had been able to visit and be the proud, protective mother she had wanted to be (Lucas couldn’t keep her away and often would find her in his office, scythe in hand). 

And now, the crew of the IPRE and the members of the Bureau of Benevolence were watching as Carey and Killian exchanged their vows.

Lup looked over to see Taako in between Kravitz and Magnus, his hands holding both of theirs. Having Taako going on a vacation into the astral plane would be … odd, but at least she knew he would be back.

She looked back at Barry who was grinning from ear to ear. She gently set her head on his shoulder and sighed happily.

The reception was exciting, with dancing and drinks and good food. Mavis had pulled Angus on the dance floor, much to his protestations. Lup chuckled, watching him. He would have to learn how to dance, eventually.

Then the bouquets were tossed, Lup being dragged onto the dance floor by Taako who had a mischievous glint in his eyes.

She totally noticed when one of the bouquets just gently floated into her hands. She shot daggers at Taako before looking at Barry who was about to die of nervousness. She flicked her ears a little, a soft smile spreading across her face as she hoped he got the message.

He didn’t need to do this now. He didn’t even need to do it tonight.

She had waited for sixty-four years. She could wait until he was ready.

The reception continued well into the night, long after Carey and Killian had left for their honeymoon, and Barry pulled Lup aside to dance in a more secluded area. She rested her head on his shoulder as they bobbed back and forth to the music. Barry finally pulled away and smiled at her, cupping her face in his hand.

“Lup … I … It’s been so long and I know that we’re, you know, a thing. But … I still want to make this official … And … Taako wanted me to do this earlier but I was so nervous and I didn’t want to steal anyone’s moment and …”

Lup cupped Barry’s face in her own hand and smiled.

“Barry, it’s ok. I’m not quite the attention seeker that Taako is and honestly, I like it better this way,” she smiled.

Barry breathed a sigh of relief and dug in his pocket before kneeling.

“Magnus carved it. And I’m sure they want to see but … Yeah, they’re probably all drunk off their asses anyway,” he laughed, nervously. “But, Lup … I want to spend eternity with you. And I mean, I know that we will spend eternity together but I want everyone to know that I love you and that I’m yours for as long as you’ll have me … Will … Will you marry me?”

Lup beamed at him, her grin burning brighter than the sun as she threw her arms around him, kissing him and whispering “Yes” over and over in his ear.

If they had been watched, no one had said anything. They had this private moment that they could savor.

They had an eternity together and it was time to begin.

~

Lup stood outside the doorway to Angus’ room. She bit her lip, looking down at the doorknob before knocking quietly.

Convincing Kravitz has been the easy part. That was the thing about the twins. It was already impossible to say no to either of them and after saving reality, the Raven Queen owned some favors.

But she needed Angus’ input too.

And she needed to know.

“Hey sweetie. Can I come in?” she asked.

“Sure mom!” Angus chirped on the other side of the door.

Lup smiled and opened the door, seeing Angus sitting on his bed, books and scrolls laid out on front of him.

“Uncle Taako gave me a pretty good offer, but I'm seeing if I can maybe learn and get a little bit more out of him,” Angus grinned mischievously, looking at his mother. His ears twitched when he saw the nervous look on her face. “Is … Is everything ok, mom?”

“Uh … yeah, kiddo,” Lup started. “I just … I wanted to talk to you about something. To ask you if … If it would be alright or even a good idea if I -” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I just … I wish I had been around and I still feel bad about it, sweetie. And … I was wondering if you would be alright if I went and thanked … Grandpa?”

Angus’ ears twitched again.

“Why wouldn’t it be alright?” Angus asked.

“Because … Because I was gone. I wasn’t in your life and who knows how he thought of the mother of the child who he took care of and … God, what if he hates me?”

Angus crawled off of the bed and ran to Lup, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“Mom, he would never hate you. And even without the story and the song, he still talked about your … well your case. He talked about how brave my mother must have been, protecting her son with the last of her strength. He never said anything bad, I promise. And if he did now then … well, I know that you love me and that you always have.”

Lup hugged Angus close.

“Thanks sweetie,” she whispered. “Do you want to -”

“Wouldn’t Uncle Kravitz say it was against the rules?” Angus asked.

“He took Taako over for a weekend. I’m sure a quick visit to your Grandpa won’t be an issue,” Lup laughed, ruffling Angus’ hair.

It was decided then, and on the weekend before Candlenights, Lup, Barry, and Angus went through the portal to the Astral Plane. Angus had bundled up, knowing that the air would be chillier, even in the Astral Plane, and he tried not to show how nervous he was. He hadn’t seen his grandpa in over two years now.

They walked over to an island, set up with a small cottage - a far cry from the mansion that Angus remembered growing up in. They walked to the door, Barry knocking on it sheepishly.

The door opened and Angus grinned.

There was his grandpa.

Just as he had always wanted to remember him.

He still had the kind smile that Angus remembered, but he was younger. He was as he had been in Angus’ earliest memories.

“Wow, you’ve sure grown a lot, Angus,” Grandpa McDonald smiled.

“Thank you, Grandpa!” Angus beamed.

Grandpa McDonald’s eyes met with Lup and Barry’s. Lup smiled, weakly, her heart hammering in her chest.

She had been preparing herself for this day, but even now, even with the encouragement from Barry and Angus, she worried. She worried that he resented her. She worried that, even though he was being polite, he still thought poorly of her.

It was why she nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt two strong arms wrap around her as Grandpa McDonald pulled her in for a tight hug.

“Your son brightened my life so much,” he whispered. “Thank you for making sure I got to meet him.”

Lup felt tears pricking her eyes as the embrace ended. Then Grandpa McDonald turned to Barry.

“So, you’re the BB that was giving him the birthday presents each year?” he smiled.

“Heh, yeah,” Barry started. “When I was in my body it was like I had holes in my brain, but after I ran into Angus one day and well … remembered after dying yet again, I made sure I could at least give him something every year. Even if I wasn’t sure he was my son at the time.”

Grandpa McDonald smiled and beckoned them into the cottage.

“Come on in! I am sure that you want to hear stories about him and maybe see some of the portraits? Sure you can’t take everything with you, but Kravitz and I go back a ways, so he allowed this for now. Now let me tell you about Angus’ first words …”

_We pan out as they walk into the cottage on the island that rises out of the glittering sea of souls,  Barry placing a hand on Lup’s back while Lup pulls a slightly embarrassed Angus in close. We fade out as they step over the threshold as a family._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, thank you all so much for your kind comments and kudos! This had to be one my favorite fics to write ever and I'm just so happy you all enjoyed it!
> 
> -FourFaces


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